Chapter 4
Chapter four
Kate
Insubordination wasn’t a good look. But in my defense, if Tristan really thought I’d stay and wait for him to ask me why I was sad, he was freaking delusional. I had no idea what had gotten into him, and I wasn’t sticking around to find out.
Hopefully, he’d party so hard with his friends after the announcement, he’d forget all about it in the morning. And he could go back to annoying me instead of saying my name with such a pained expression, I’d felt a crack behind my rib cage.
Weird how it had affected me so much. Even weirder how I’d had this desire to unload on him. Thank heavens, I’d kept my mouth shut long enough to remember who the heck I was talking to.
A world where Tristan Blake was someone’s shoulder to cry on didn’t exist. Unless he got something out of the deal. And that was one line I wasn’t willing to cross. Not with him.
Never with him.
“Ugh.” I groaned. “Why is he taking up so much headspace right now?”
Clearly, my thoughts needed a new direction. Only problem was with my brain not focused on Tristan’s odd behavior, my mind drifted to the damn dark cloud hanging over my head.
I’d called Mrs. Humphreys earlier and asked her to give it to me straight. She had, and my entire world came crashing down at my feet. According to her, it would be easy for Taelyn to prove to a judge I was unfit to raise Millie.
I worked long hours. I had no partner to help. And even though I didn’t have financial troubles, I wasn’t as well-off as Taelyn and her husband.
Taelyn who didn’t want a damn thing to do with Millie until she grew tired of all the fertilization treatments and figured it’d be easier to take her sister’s child.
Millie.
My Millie.
Like earlier in the day, tears welled up in my eyes. How could she do this? If she’d shown the slightest interest in Millie’s life, she’d have known Millie was happy and taken care of.
But apparently that didn’t mean shit to her.
Too many times to count, Clara had complained Taelyn always got what she wanted. Heck, it was one of the things we’d bonded over. She’d complain about her sister, and I’d complain about mine.
Eleanor, my oldest sister, was to me what Taelyn was to Clara.
“We’re here, ma’am.”
The Uber driver’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and not a moment too soon.
With a grateful smile, I paid my fare and hopped out. That warm feeling I got when I saw my childhood home rushed over me, and I welcomed it with open arms.
The only feeling better than that was the one I got a moment later when the front door swung open, and Millie came barreling toward me.
“Kate.”
I crouched and spread my arms wide. Her tiny body crashed into mine, and I wrapped her up in the tightest hug.
“Hey, Bug. How was your day?”
Keeping her in my arms, I straightened and headed for the front door where my mom waited. Millie’s mouth moved a mile a minute, telling me everything about her day. My heart pinched painfully.
I didn’t want to lose her. I loved this little girl as if she were my own. Heck, I’d changed her diaper when she was a couple of days old. I was there when she smiled her first smile, said her first word, took her first step.
And now I was supposed to let her go?
It wasn’t fair.
“Everything all right?” my mom asked when we reached the door.
I smiled and set Millie down. Naturally, she rushed back into the house. “Yeah. Just tired. It’s been a day.” No one besides Izzy knew Taelyn was trying to get custody of Millie. I’d asked her to keep the news quiet while I tried to come to terms with it.
“You sure?” Mom drew me into a hug.
Until that very second, I hadn’t realized how desperately I needed one. Squeezing her tight, I burrowed into the crook of my mom’s neck and just breathed her in.
It never ceased to amaze me how simply being near her could bring so much calm to whatever storm was raging inside me.
“All better now.” Pulling away, I went inside and took a deep breath. “Mmm. You made my favorite.”
Eleanor’s snort sounded before her words registered.
“Well, since you have no one else to cook for you, it’s only fitting that someone makes your favorite.”
I shut my eyes and ground my teeth to keep a groan from escaping. Apparently, begging the universe for any kind of break was too much to ask.
“Eleanor,” my mom chided. “Is that really necessary?”
“Katie knows I’m playing, Mom.” I didn’t even have to look to see my sister’s demeaning smile. “Isn’t that right?”
My older sister was staring at me. Her gaze burned a hole in the back of my skull, silently demanding me to show our mother everything was fine. Usually, I had no problem doing that.
Today, not so much.
It was harder to school my features and unclench my fists. To bite my tongue. Because I had nothing to say to Eleanor. Nothing good, at least. I’ve kept up appearances and pretended to be fine for the sake of our parents.
If they knew how I really felt about Eleanor—and she about me—it would probably kill them.
That was exactly why I pasted on a smile and faced them. The instant I did, I wished I’d gone into the house instead.
I didn’t want to see my sister’s husband. Didn’t want to be witness to their gross affinity for public displays of affection.
As if she could sense what I thought, she shoved her hands into her husband’s hair and pulled his mouth to hers.
I probably hated her for this the most.
It wasn’t enough for her to steal him from me, but she just couldn’t resist any opportunity to rub my nose in it.
It wasn’t even that I still had feelings for Bryce. Those died when I learned he’d cheated on me with my sister. It was the fact Eleanor was the first person I’d shared my feelings with, and she’d stabbed me in the back.
Done with them and the show they put on, I waltzed into the house to greet my dad. He was in his favorite recliner with Millie on his lap. She had the TV remote in her hand while he had the newspaper in his.
Relief washed over me. He looked good. So much healthier than three weeks ago when we brought him home after surviving a major heart attack.
“This looks fun. Mind if I join?”
My dad eyed me over the dark rim of his glasses, a wide smile on his face. “There’s always space on a dad’s lap for his little princess.”
“Not so little anymore, Dad.” Taking a seat on the armrest, I kissed his forehead.
His smile was so achingly sweet. “You’ll always be my little princess.”
He meant it too.
My sisters and I had a long list of things to be grateful for. Caring, wonderful parents right at the top. They’d been there for us, supported us, no matter what.
A sliver of guilt ran down my spine when I thought about the things I never told them. They didn’t know how Eleanor and Bryce got together. I’d told them it’d been over between us before the two of them had started dating. My parents, being the trusting people they were, believed me.
They had no idea—or at least I hoped they hadn’t—how Eleanor’s stupid digs whenever we had family lunch or dinners really got to me. And now they didn’t even know we could all lose the girl we loved so much.
There was something seriously wrong with me. There had to be. They had never, not once, given me a reason to think my feelings weren’t valid, and yet I kept them in the dark.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
My dad’s soft, concerned words jolted me back to the present.
Blinking a few times, I turned my attention to him and hoped like hell my smile didn’t look as fake as it was. “Just the long day catching up to me. I...uh... I think Millie and I should skip dinner tonight.”
Dad’s bushy brows drew together. “You sure that’s all it is? You look like you have the world on your shoulders, Princess.”
And then some. “I’m all good. Promise.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. Not that the truth was any better. Giving him another quick peck, I pushed to my feet and held out my arms for Millie. “Come on, Bug.”
“Ah,” she whined. “We’re leaving? We haven’t had dinner yet. Grandma Helen made your favorite.”
If it were any other day or even if Eleanor and Bryce weren’t there, Millie’s pout and big, sad eyes would have won me over. Unfortunately for us both, my need to lick my wounds in private was a bit stronger.
I wiggled my fingers, urging her to get off my dad’s lap. “I’m sure if we ask nicely, she’ll send some home with us.”
“But, Kate, I wanna stay, please.” Her bottom lip wobbled, and tears filled her eyes. “Grandpa promised we’d build a puzzle after dinner.”
“I did make that promise,” my dad chimed in, offering me absolutely no help at all.
I glared at him. He shrugged and grinned. Because he knew, he freaking knew, I’d lost this damn fight.
“All right,” I sighed. “We’ll stay.”
Millie’s sadness was gone as fast as it came, and as much as I wanted to sulk about staying, I couldn’t. I’d do anything to keep that big, beautiful smile on her lips. Even endure a dinner with my sister, my ex, and their inexplicable need to always have their hands on each other.
“I’m going to see if Mom needs help in the kitchen. Can I get you anything?”
“Nah. We’re all good here. Isn’t that right, little one?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Without looking at me, Millie continued flicking through the channels.
With a shake of my head, I headed into the kitchen. My mom wasn’t there, but it wasn’t empty either.
“Hey, Katie. Didn’t get to greet you earlier.” Bryce swallowed his water and set the glass in the sink. “How have you been?”
My first instinct was to get the hell out of there. But then a little voice in the back of my head asked why I was always the one to flee. So instead of running away like I usually did, I moved farther into the kitchen.
Bryce’s gaze was on me as I made my way to the fridge to grab a soda. I didn’t like it. I was about to say as much.
“You look really good,” he said.
Rage bubbled through my veins, setting my pulse on fire. Slamming the fridge door, I pointed a finger at him. “You don’t get to say that.” I inched closer and lowered my voice, my icy tone, though, remained. “You lost the right to even speak to me when you stuck your dick in my sister.”
With that I left Bryce and his slack jaw behind.