Chapter 25 Reggie
Twenty Five
Reggie
I’m in my new sewing room working on a wedding dress for Mrs. Robles’s daughter when I hear a car in the driveway. Not Blayne’s truck, I know that sound by heart. This is something else.
My stomach drops even before I look out the window.
Richard’s standing next to a shiny black BMW, wearing one of his perfectly tailored suits and looking around Blayne’s property like he’s calculating its value.
He looks exactly the same, still handsome in that polished, country club way, still carrying himself like he owns the world.
I haven’t seen him since the day I signed the divorce papers months ago.
“Shit,” I mutter.
I hear the front door open, which means he just walked into my house without knocking.
“Regina?” His voice echoes through the hallway. “Where are you?”
I take a deep breath and walk out to meet him. He’s standing in the living room, looking around like he’s inventorying everything.
“Hello, Richard.”
“Regina.” He gives me that smile that used to make my knees weak and now just makes me tired. “You look good. Country life agrees with you.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see my children. And to talk to you.”
“You could’ve called first.”
“I did, if you recall correctly.” I sigh. He’s still looking around the room. “Nice place. Very… rustic.”
“What do you want, Richard?”
“I want my family back.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Excuse me?”
“I made a mistake, Regina. A huge one. And I want to fix it.”
“You made a mistake?”
“Yes. It was stupid, meaningless. I ended it.”
“You ended it?”
“Months ago. The second I realized what I was throwing away.”
I stare at him, trying to process what he’s saying. “You threw us away, Richard. You chose a fling over your family.”
“I know. And I regret it every day.”
“Good for you,” I tell him, crossing my arms, not giving him an inch.
“Baby, I’m serious. I want us to try again. I want our family back together.”
“Our family… back together?” I stutter, in shock at this man’s audacity.
“Yes, sweetheart. You’re living in the middle of nowhere with some stranger…”
Oh, don’t go there, buddy. “Blayne’s not a stranger.”
“He is to our children.”
I scoff. “He’s definitely not a stranger to the kids.”
“How can you say that? You’ve known him for what, a few months?”
“I’ve known him for years, Richard. He’s a good man.”
“And I’m your husband.”
“You’re my ex-husband. And right now, you’re trespassing. You want to see your children? You should have called first, not drop off and ambush me in our new home.”
Of course, he ignores that last part. “Baby, what we had… something like that doesn’t just disappear.”
“Richard, you blew us away the first time you fucked someone else.”
“Baby, I know I hurt you. I screwed up. But we can fix this.”
“For chrissake, there’s nothing to fix. We’re divorced. I’ve moved on.” I raise my hands in exasperation.
“Really? Because it looks like you’re playing house with some local handyman to get my attention.”
The fucking nerve of this piece of shit. “Don’t you fucking dare.” I point a shaky finger at his face.
“Don’t what? Point out that you’re rebounding with the first guy who paid attention to you?”
I take a deep breath. “Listen, Rich, none of this is any of your business. You came to see your kids. Let’s talk about that.”
But asshole’s always been a one-track-mind type of guy. “How impressive. A small-town construction company.”
By this point my blood’s boiling and I hear myself shriek, “At least he shows up! He cares about your kids!”
“I care about my kids. They’re my children.”
“Oh yeah? When was the last time you called them?”
He turns to look toward the windows, averting my gaze. “I’ve been busy…”
“When’s the last time you asked about school, their friends, how they’re adjusting? Fucking anything!”
“That’s why I’m here now, Reggie!” His tone is matching mine now. Bringing back memories of our months of fighting.
“No, asshole. You’re here because you found out I’m living with someone. And you can’t stand the thought of me being happy with someone else.”
“You’re wrong.” He almost sounds defeated. Almost, but even if he’s sincere, I couldn’t care less. “I’m here because I realized I made the biggest mistake of my life.”
He takes a step in my direction, and I move back. “The biggest mistake of your life was abandoning your family. Now you have to live with the consequences.”
“Regina…”
I interrupt him. “No, Rich. You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to decide a year later that you want your family back after you walked out on us.”
He gives me a look that’s filled with sadness, and I really wish I cared. “Baby, I’m their father.”
“Then act like it. Show up, be in their lives. Call your kids. Make actual plans with me to come visit them. Take them for a while.” I take a step forward, getting in his face. “Rebuild your relationship with your children, but don’t bring drama into our home.”
“That’s why I’m here, Regina.”
Oh my God, how did is this man? “Richard, you’re here because your ego can’t handle the fact that I’m happy without you.”
And of course he jumps on that. “Are you? Happy?”
His question is like a bucket of ice-cold water on my boiling anger. I feel a wave of calm instantly settle over me. “Yes.” I smile, and it’s not mean or provoking, just quiet, peaceful, content. “I’m happier than I’ve been in years.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “With him?”
My tone is softer now, because Richard may have royally fucked up (and honestly, he still is) but he was my person for a long time, and I know this has to hurt. “With my life, Rich. Our kids. My parents. Work.” His eyes are glassy now. “With Blayne… everything we’re building here.”
Anger flares in his gaze. “What are you building? You’re living in someone else’s house, trying to squeeze yourself into someone else’s life.”
“Richard, this is my life. Our life. Mine, Blayne’s and the kids’.”
“The kids need stability, Regina. They need their family together.”
“They have stability. They have a family.”
“What they have is a broken home.”
“No, Rich. They have a home where they’re loved, wanted and treated like they matter.” Another blow.
“I love them.” His voice sounds desperate now.
“Do you? Because love isn’t just a feeling, Richard. It’s showing up. It’s being there when they need you. It’s putting them first.”
“I can put them first.”
God, this is exhausting. But I guess we needed to have this conversation once and for all. “Now? What about all the years when work was more important? When golf was more important? When your side piece was more important?”
“That’s not fair, Regina. I was working to provide for us.”
“None of this is fair, Richard. For any of us. What you put us through.” I point at his face again.
I’m interrupted by the sound of Blayne’s truck pulling into the driveway. Oh, shit. My heart starts pounding, because I know this is about to get much uglier.
“Is that him?” Richard asks, his classically handsome face twisting into something ugly.
“Yes.”
“Good. I’d like to meet the man who’s been playing daddy to my children.”
I roll my eyes. “Richard, don’t.”
“Don’t what? Protect my family?”
“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” I warn him. Because I suspect Blayne Madison doesn’t play fair when it comes to us.
The front door opens, and my cowboy walks in. All tall, built, rugged… freaking magnificent. He takes one look at Richard, and his entire demeanor changes.
“Why is my woman upset?” he growls without preamble. Oh boy…
“You must be the handyman.” Blayne crosses his massive arms over his huge chest and stares down at my city-boy ex.
“The guy who swooped in when Reggie was at her lowest and convinced her to give you a try.” He takes a step forward, and I think he must be suicidal because the waves of unrestrained fury coming from my cowboy are frightening even me (more like turning me on in a “my man’s a badass” way…). “You’re using her.”
“Using her for what?” My guy asks.
“For whatever it is guys like you are after.”
Blayne raises an eyebrow. “Guys like me?”
“Small-town guys with big dreams and no prospect.”
“Richard, stop,” I say.
“No, let him talk,” Blayne says with a smirk.
“You’re not good enough for her or for my children. And I’m not going to stand by and let you ruin their lives.”
“Yeah? Where were you when Nia got hurt at school? When Jaylen made varsity? When Annalise needed a date for her father-daughter dance?”
Richard’s face goes pale. “How do you…”
Blayne thumps his chest. “I was here. For all of it. That’s what you do when you love someone, you scumbag.”
“You had no right…” He swallows hard. “They’re not your children.”
“They’re mine in every way that matters.”
Richard looks like he’s been slapped. He turns to me, and I can see desperation in his eyes. “Regina, you can’t seriously think this is better for them. A life in the middle of nowhere with a man they barely know?”
“They know him better than they ever knew you.”
“That’s not true.” He looks desperate now. “I know them.” His eyes are pleading. “I can learn. I can do better.”
“It’s too late, Rich.”
“It’s never too late. Regina, please. I’m begging you. Give us another chance.” He takes a step toward me. “Let me prove to you that I can be the husband you need, the father they need.”
“I don’t need you. And they don’t need a father who only shows up when it’s convenient for him.”
“I’ll show up. I’ll be there.”
“For how long? Until work gets busy again? Until another girl catches your eye?”
“That won’t happen.”
“You’re right. It won’t. Because I’m not giving you the chance.”
“Regina…”
“No, Richard. You had years to be the man I needed, the father our kids needed. You chose not to be.”
“I can change.” Richard stares at me for a long moment, and I can see him realizing that this isn’t going the way he planned.
“I’m not giving up,” he says finally. He heads toward the door, then turns back.
He sends us one last scorned look and stomps out.
Leaving us in our big, beautiful home. And I run into the comfort of my man’s arms.