Chapter 31

Cody had the zoomies. He was racing around the apartment, singing the Bruno song on repeat at the top of his lungs. No wonder Allie looked frazzled. "Why don't we take him out to the boardwalk? It might even be warm enough to let him take his shoes off and run around on the beach."

"That is a fantastic idea," Zach said. "I'll get his shoes and jacket."

I wrangled Cody and told him we were going to the boardwalk. He started bouncing around, yelling, "Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!"

"We definitely need to wear him out," I said.

Zach lifted Cody up and turned him upside down. "Come on, little man. Time to put on your shoes."

"No shoes!" Cody shouted.

Zach set Cody down on a kitchen chair. "Yes, shoes or no ice cream." Cody's lower lip protruded and started to tremble. Zach shook his head. "Nope. Pouting won't work with me, little man. Shoes on or no ice cream."

Cody sniffled and said, "Okay."

With shoes and jacket finally on, we headed to the boardwalk three blocks away. Zach put Cody up on his shoulders, and I got to admire his strong arms lovingly protecting the little boy.

It was a beautiful, sunny spring day. It was still a bit chilly, but even so, I could see many people out walking on the boardwalk. Beyond the boardwalk, I saw a few people running around on the beach.

We had just gotten onto the boardwalk when my phone vibrated with a call. I checked the screen and saw it was my sister. Looking up at Zach, I said, "It's Isabella." I swiped to answer, "Hey, Bella, what's up?"

"The police finally picked up Carlos," she said, relief evident.

"Oh my god! That's great! Where did they find him?" Zach looked at me with a question in his eyes, and I mouthed, "They arrested Carlos."

"Excellent," he said quietly. We continued walking on the boardwalk while I listened to my sister.

Isabella continued her story. "The state police pulled him over on the Parkway for speeding and pulled up the arrest warrant. They took him to the Ridgewood police station for booking."

"That's fantastic," I said. "So now what?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm sure he'll get a lawyer. But he resisted arrest, so it looks bad for him. My lawyer thinks I'll be able to get a permanent restraining order because of the charges. That and the texts he's been sending me."

"What texts?" I demanded. "You didn't tell me about any texts yesterday."

"I didn't want to upset you any more than you already were," she said. "Carlos kept sending me texts threatening to kidnap the children. He even said he could make me disappear and no one would ever find me."

"Holy shit!"

"Oooh, Miguel said a bad word," Cody chided from his perch on Zach's shoulders. Zach snickered.

"Who's that?" Isabella asked.

"That's Cody, my boyfriend, Zach's, nephew. We're walking on the boardwalk to let him run off some energy and maybe get some ice cream." Zach smiled and his cheeks went pink at the word boyfriend.

"Yay, ice cream!" Cody shouted.

"Oh," she said sadly. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend. I was heading to your apartment. I was going to bring Diego and Sofia over to visit you."

"You still can," I insisted. "Come join us on the boardwalk in Ocean Grove. We just left the apartment about five minutes ago."

"Are you sure that's all right?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course," I replied. "The kids will have fun. Cody is almost four, so he and Diego should get along just fine. We'll meet you at the pavilion."

"Okay. I just turned onto Main Avenue. I'll find a place to park near the boardwalk and meet you there."

After I ended the call, I looked at Zach. "I hope that's okay."

"Of course," he said. "It would be pretty hypocritical of me to complain, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're right."

We made it to the large pavilion on the boardwalk just as Isabella was crossing the street with Diego and Sofia in tow. My heart squeezed. I was so happy to see my niece and nephew. I'd really missed them. As soon as Diego saw me, he screeched, "Uncle Miguel!"

I knelt and held my arms open wide. He ran up, threw himself at me, and immediately burst into tears. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. "I've got you, baby boy."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zach put Cody down. The little boy looked distressed as he closely watched Diego and me. When Diego finally calmed down, Isabella handed me some tissues, and I helped him wipe his eyes and blow his nose.

Cody came over to him and gently patted his back. "It's okay to cry if you're sad."

Now I was going to cry.

Sofia held her arms out to me for her hug, and I stood, took her from her mother's arms, and held her tight. "How's my girl?" She didn't answer. She just laid her head on my chest and put her thumb in her mouth.

I looked at Isabella in confusion because Sofia was usually a chatty, happy little girl. My sister shook her head. "She's been like that since Carlos hit me and Diego. She was so scared that she ran away and hid in Mama's closet. Now, she hardly talks at all."

My eyes stung with tears. My poor babies. I wanted to choke the life out of Carlos. I cleared my throat. "How about we wander into Asbury Park and get everyone some ice cream."

"Sounds good to me," Zach said.

I rolled my eyes at myself. "I'm so sorry. Isabella, this is Zach. My boyfriend." Zach's pleased smile made me giddy.

She smiled at him and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Zach."

"It's good to finally meet you," Zach replied. "Miguel talks about you and the kids all the time."

"I'm sure," she muttered.

I sighed. "Come on, Bella. Let's get some ice cream."

Isabella took me up on my offer to carry Sofia. Zach offered Cody a ride on his shoulders again, but he shook his head and pointed at Diego. "I want to walk with him so he's not sad."

Oh, my heart. Little kids were the best. "That's very nice of you, Cody," I said. "His name is Diego."

"Diego," Cody said, carefully sounding out the name. "Hi, I'm Cody. Wanna hold hands so we don't get lost?"

"Okay," Diego replied.

The three adults stared at each other and dutifully followed the two little boys. The walk was slow because of tiny legs and little boys who wanted to pet every dog they saw on the boardwalk. Sofia snuggled comfortably in my arms and watched her brother and his new friend. Every once in a while, she'd look over at Zach, who would smile and give her a little wave.

By the time we got to the ice cream place, the boys were excitedly talking about Batman and Iron Man. Sofia had fallen asleep in my arms, and let me tell you, little kids got heavy when asleep. Isabella sat at one of the outdoor picnic-style tables and took Sofia while Zach and I got ice cream for everybody. Once we passed out the ice cream, Zach and I made sure to sit the boys between us so we could keep an eye on them. No one wanted a screaming four-year-old who'd dropped his ice cream on the ground.

Isabella fed Sofia a spoonful of chocolate ice cream. "Sorry, I didn't have the stroller with me. I didn't think to pick it up when I went back to the house to get clothes."

I waved away her apology. "It's fine. I'm just happy to see you all again."

My sister's eyes got teary. "Miguel, I'm so sorry for what I said to you before."

I put up my hand. "It's okay, Bella. You've already apologized. It's a new day and a clean slate. I love you. That's all that matters." She nodded tearfully, wiping her eyes with a napkin.

We moved to lighter topics because little ears picked up everything. "When did you two get together?" Isabella asked.

Zach and I looked at each other and grinned. "Well, it's kind of new," I said.

"How new?"

Zach's cheeks grew pink. "Friday night."

Isabella blinked. "Really? That is new. How did you meet?"

I put my hand on Diego's cup to prevent him from sending it to the ground. "At work," I replied. "And he's my roommate."

She tilted her head in confusion. "I thought Dwayne was your roommate."

I shook my head. "He moved in with his boyfriend and Zach moved in with me."

She narrowed her eyes. "I get the feeling there's more to this story."

"A lot more," Zach said as he wiped Cody's face.

"We'll have to get together for a drink sometime and tell you all about it."

"Oh, I should tell you," Isabella began. "Mama and Papa have decided to move back down here."

"What? When did they decide that?" And why hadn't they told me? The fact that neither of my parents had reached out to me since my argument with my mother spoke volumes about what they thought of me.

Accurately reading my expression, Isabella reached across the table to cover my hand with hers. "It's not like that, Miguel. They love you. They just don't know how to say they were wrong."

My throat felt tight and hot tears pricked the backs of my eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm not going to be the first to reach out. I've done that my whole life, and I'm tired of it. They always make it seem like it was me who did something wrong. If they want to talk to me, they're going to have to call me."

"I know," she said. "They know it too."

Cody started to whine and rub his eyes. "That's our cue," Zach said. "Little man is tired."

I handed Zach some napkins to wipe Cody's face. "Hopefully, it lasts so we can put him down for a nap."

We got the kids cleaned up as best we could and made our slow way back to Isabella's car. Once we got Diego and Sofia tucked into their car seats, I hugged Isabella goodbye. "Don't be such a stranger."

"I won't," she replied. "Once I know what's going on with Carlos, I can come back home."

I sighed as I watched her drive away. Zach squeezed my shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just worried about her and the kids. Even if there's a restraining order, it doesn't mean much to someone as arrogant as Carlos. Men like him don't think the rules apply to them."

"I know what you mean," Zach said. "Allie's last boyfriend, Scott, was like that." His voice deepened and sounded dangerous. "I had to teach him that there were consequences for people who put their hands on my sister."

I shivered. "Well, damn. Maybe I should send you after Carlos."

Zach shook his head. "The law will take care of Carlos. Scott is a spoiled little rich boy who never got told no. And Daddy's money always gets him out of trouble. That's why I had to step in."

"He hasn't come back?" I asked.

"Not as far as I know. Allie would have told me if he had."