Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Aelin stood on the shore of the lake, watching as Amaya and Bailey skipped rocks. The cabin was cleaned out, their luggage was loaded up in the trunk of Ryan's car. All they had left to do was take the boat out and meet with her family for lunch.

Aelin glanced down at her phone, her body already beginning to tense as it searched for a network. Besides taking pictures, she'd gone radio silent, and it was going to be a rough re-entry.

"Are you sure you two are up for this?" Mariah called from the dock. "Leo and I can take care of it."

Ryan walked down from the cabin and waved a hand. "We're good."

Aelin nodded and trailed him to the boat. She stepped onboard and grabbed a damp cloth and cleaning solution. Ryan helped Leo dry off the exterior of the boat while she and Mariah wiped down the interior.

She glanced back at Amaya and Bailey having some conversation with Mariah's girls. They were both so happy. Tan and sun-kissed, their hair bleached out by the sun .

"I don't think they're going to be happy when we tell them it's time to go," she said.

Mariah sighed. "None of us are."

It was true. Being on the water, surrounded by friends and family, had been a slice of heaven. But it was the sight of Amaya and Bailey playing together that was the cherry on top. They'd been inseparable since the first night, and seeing them like that made Aelin's heart swell.

Aelin moved to the bow and spotted Ryan below her on the ramp. "Think we could just live out here?" Images of her going incognito with forged documents flashed through her head.

Ryan nodded but didn't answer. Exactly.

She wanted one more night lying in his arms. One more night cocooned from the reality of her life. It wasn't that the reality was bad. The reality was unknown.

It wasn't in her control, and maybe nothing ever really was. But it felt good to have the illusion of it. She'd been strapped into the passenger seat of her own life, and this week she'd taken the wheel. Or at least jumped out of the car. She could almost feel the scrapes and bruises taking shape because of it.

They finished drying off the boat, then gathered their things. Aelin called the girls over, and they reluctantly trudged back to the dock.

"Do we have to go?" Bailey's lower lip jutted out.

Aelin smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yep. Sorry, babe."

The girls got into the backseat making sure they had everything they needed for the drive, and Aelin leaned on the door as her parents walked to their car. "Pocketstone?"

Her dad nodded. "See you over there."

Main Street in Bigfork was hopping, and the line outside of Pocketstone Café wrapped down the block. Thankfully her dad had called ahead for their large group.

The hostess led them through the country diner to a large table in the middle of the restaurant. Her parents were already there, and Mariah and Leo trickled in with their kids. Her heart ached as she looked around the table.

This was what she'd given up. When she'd married Clark and moved to Canada, she'd left this. It felt like such a tragic waste until she glanced at Bailey picking up her menu. No price was too high for that.

Ryan's hand found hers under the table, and she clung to it as they placed their orders.

When the server left, their conversation turned to the past week. Mariah and Leo recounted their hike up to Avalanche Lake, while Dave and Molly talked about their morning paddleboarding sessions.

"And what about you two?" Mariah turned to Aelin and Ryan.

Aelin shrugged. "You saw everything we did, I think. Mostly stuck around the cabin."

Mariah took a drink from her water glass. "The girls go to bed at what time?"

Aelin's mouth fell open, but Ryan only grinned. "Early enough for me to win at Crazy Eights."

Amaya looked at him, horrified. "You played after we went to sleep?"

The adults laughed while Ryan tried to explain that he was joking without much luck.

Mariah raised an eyebrow and mouthed, "I like him." Aelin shot her look, then pretended to be very interested in how Bailey was colouring her placemat.

The server brought their food, and Aelin's mouth watered at the sight of her grilled cheese. The cheddar oozed out from between the slices of bread, and the bacon was crispy and perfectly cooked. She took a bite and sighed.

"Good?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

Aelin nodded, her mouth too full to respond. She looked around the table. Mariah picked up a breakfast taco, her son Tucker ordered the largest smothered burrito known to man, Leo was taking a massive bite of his burger, and her parents shared a plate of meatloaf, eggs, and mashed potatoes. Every little girl had pancakes.

She grinned and took another bite.

Half an hour later, they said their goodbyes to Dave reciting, "The road goes ever on and on," then window shopped their way back to Ryan's car arguing about when Bailey would be old enough to watch The Hobbit.

And then they were buckled into their seats. Ryan started the engine, and Aelin turned her head so the girls wouldn't see tears slipping down her cheeks.

_____

They stopped at the last American Walmart on their route and picked up as many cases of Cream Soda Dr. Pepper as they could fit between their bags before crossing the border back into Canada. As they passed the wooden "Welcome to Alberta" sign, a knot formed in Aelin's stomach.

Her life seemed to peel like an onion, each layer of reality stinking stronger than the last. Clark wanted to sell the house. She couldn't find an affordable housing option. He was going to use that to try and take her custody time.

Ryan glanced in the back, then dropped his sweatshirt over the console to hide his arm from the backseat and reached over for her hand. Aelin's fingers trembled as she took it. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Breathe. In and out.

The kilometres ticked by, and they eventually hit the outskirts of Calgary. The sun was ripe and swollen on the horizon as Ryan turned onto her street.

She wanted to tell him to slam on the brakes. To wait at the stop sign for just a few more minutes. But then he was pulling up to the curb and then?—

Aelin's heart turned to stone and sank in her chest.

"Is that Dad's car?" Bailey pointed at the sleek black Audi in the driveway.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of Aelin's neck. What the hell was he doing there? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The sight of that car juxtaposed with their perfect week was so jarring, her vision blurred at the edges.

Ryan's hand landed on her shoulder, but it wasn't enough to pull her out of the whirlpool of panic.

"Aelin . . . "

She swallowed hard. "That's Clark's car."

Ryan's eyes darkened, and he glanced back at the girls in the back seat.

Clark wasn't supposed to be in the house. Per their initial mediation agreement, he was only allowed to be in the driveway for pick-ups and drop-offs. But his car was off. And he wasn't inside it.

Ryan swore under his breath as he turned off the engine. "Stay here. I'll?—"

"No." Aelin's voice was firm. "Seeing you is only going to make it worse." She pushed her door open and hurried to the back of the car, patting the trunk for Ryan to open it. Aelin's legs felt like jelly as she started lifting out the cases of soda.

"I can do that." Ryan put a hand on the small of her back, but it only made her shake harder. Her fingers slipped on the handle of her suitcase.

Ryan circled her wrist with his hand and gently nudged her back, then pulled her suitcase from the trunk, followed by Bailey's. He turned to her. "If you think I'm going to drive away with him?—"

"I can take this from here." Clark's voice bit into her from the driveway .

Aelin dropped her eyes and started rolling the suitcase to the sidewalk. "I'm good, thanks."

"Yeah, I'm not good." Clark folded his arms over his chest. He wore a long-sleeved shirt that shimmered weirdly when he moved, his dark hair perfectly coiffed. His jaw was clenched. "I showed up to pick up Bailey yesterday and you were nowhere to be found."

Aelin stared at him. "I was at Flathead. You signed the notary saying you gave permission."

He gave a condescending smirk. "Did you check the dates, Aelin?"

Her blood rushed in her ears. "I sent the dates to your lawyer."

"Right, I know, but did you check the dates of the letter?"

She dropped her bag on the sidewalk and went back to the car. She pulled her backpack from the floor and hunted until she found her passport and the notary letter.

Aelin unfolded it and scanned the text. July sixteenth through July twentieth?—

She froze, reading it a second time. It was the twenty-second. The letter only listed permission until the twentieth.

"You refused to turn Bailey over to my care. That's a violation of our agreement. Furthermore, you took our daughter internationally without permission." Clark scoffed. "I'm amazed they didn't detain you at the border."

Aelin's breath came in short, shallow bursts. If she'd been passing through the American side, they probably would've.

Clark lowered his voice and took a step closer. "I also didn't give permission for my daughter to be in the care of another adult."

Aelin spun, her eyes flashing. "Are you seriously—" She stopped mid-sentence as Bailey pushed the door of the car open.

"Dad!" She grinned, dropping her pillow and backpack on the grass and running to him.

"Hey, bug. "

Aelin ground her teeth. She'd always hated that nickname because he wielded it like a weapon. Someday, Bailey would be old enough to see how each word he used was meant to distract. To hurt. To blind.

Bailey looked up. "When's our next date?"

Clark exhaled and ruffled her hair. "I'll have to talk with your mom. I cleared my whole weekend so we could spend time together, but she didn't tell me you were going to be gone."

Bailey's head turned toward her, her eyes questioning.

Aelin clenched her jaw so tight, she tasted blood. "It was a misunderstanding, Bailes. I'm so sorry." The apology felt like she was swallowing razor blades.

Clark smiled. "No problem, we'll figure something out, eh?" He pulled his keys from his pocket, then gave Bailey another hug. "See you soon, bug."

Clark glanced up, his expression cold enough to make her shiver, then turned and got in his car.

Ryan stood next to her, every muscle tensed. "Let's get your things inside."

Aelin drew a shaky breath. "He didn't look at you."

Ryan ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Got lucky, I guess."

Aelin shook her head. "No. That's not a good thing." She pulled up the handle on her suitcase and started rolling it. "If he thought he was the dominant man in this situation, he would have done something to prove it. He ignored you."

Ryan followed her up the walk with the cases of pop. "You make it sound like we're on a nature documentary."

She nodded. "That's exactly what this is." She pushed the door open since Clark hadn't bothered to lock it, and they dropped everything in the entry.

Bailey pushed through the door carrying her things. "Can I get a snack, Mom?"

Aelin nodded. "Yep. Then you need to shower."

Bailey ran to the kitchen, and Aelin turned back to Ryan. She wanted to reach for him. To hold him. To ask him to stay .

But everything inside her felt numb. Empty.

Ryan's fingers twitched, but he didn't move closer. "I'll, uh, text you."

She nodded. "Thanks for driving."

Ryan looked at her for a moment longer, then turned and walked back to the car.

Aelin stood in the entryway, her feet rooted to the floor. She watched through the side window as Ryan opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. He glanced up and met her eyes, and she willed her feet to move. To run out onto the porch and yell for him to come back.

But she didn't. He started the engine, and his taillights glowed red. His car pulled away from the curb, and the silence of her house threatened to bury her.

She lifted a throw blanket from the chair in the sitting room and wrapped it around her shoulders. It didn't help. She shook as she put away the dishes from Bailey's snack. As she brushed Bailey's hair after her shower, and then as she flowed through her bedtime routine.

Her pillows on the bed were in the wrong place. Her necklaces hung on the hooks in her closet in the wrong order.

Clark had touched her things and left them askew just to screw with her.

Aelin shut off the light and crawled into bed feeling like she'd aged a hundred years. Fun Aelin had shrivelled and died the second they'd left that Walmart, and functional Aelin had disappeared the second she'd seen Clark's car in the driveway.

At least twelve years married to him had taught her one thing.

She would have to wake up in the morning and do this all again.