Everly
EVERLY
“Daddy?” Rhett queried tentatively.
Paul threw his arms out to the side in a welcoming fashion. “It’s me, buddy. My, you’ve grown.”
The times when I wondered if Paul would ever return, I’d questioned whether Rhett would recognize him. And now I had my answer. What I didn’t have the answer to was where the fuck he’d been for more than two years and why the hell he thought it was perfectly reasonable to break into my house and think he’d get a warm welcome.
Rhett threw himself into Paul’s embrace while I stood there, feet frozen to the floor, my blood running cold, and struggling to get a full breath.
“Is it really you?” Rhett said, pressing his hand to his father’s face.
“A hundred percent.” Paul turned to me, smiling. “Well, aren’t you gonna say hello, Ev?”
My palms prickled, and I clenched and unclenched my fists. “Hello.”
I hardly recognized the hard tone to my voice, and that, coupled with the nonverbal cues pouring off me, left Paul with no doubt that if he’d expected me to throw myself into his arms, delighted at his return, he’d have a damn long wait ahead of him.
Paul narrowed his eyes as he set Rhett on the floor, then stood. “You look good, Ev.”
I clamped my teeth together. I’d never liked that nickname, but no matter how many times I told Paul, he never listened.
“Rhett,” I said, beckoning him to me. “How about you spend a bit longer with Dorothy? I’m sure she’ll have more pie.”
Rhett pouted and stamped his foot. “But I want to stay with Daddy.”
I steeled myself for a full-on tantrum. However he reacted, I still needed him out of the way so I could get to the bottom of what the hell was going on and why Paul had turned up now, of all times. He wasn’t back for me. If he gave two shits about me and him, he’d never have left in the first place, and unless he was about to tell me he’d been kidnapped and held against his will—highly unlikely—then he’d made his choice the day he walked out without giving me or Rhett a second thought. I refused to allow Rhett to get sucked into thinking Paul was back for good, not until I’d gotten answers to the hundreds of questions running through my mind.
“Daddy will still be here in a couple of hours, right?” I gritted out, shooting a glare at Paul.
“Course I will,” he said, ruffling Rhett’s hair. “I’m back, son. I’m going nowhere.”
I ground my teeth. We’ll see.
“Go on now. Do as your mother tells you. Us grown-ups need a bit of time to talk.”
Rhett didn’t look happy, but he meekly came along with me. I only needed to say two words to Dorothy: “Paul’s back.” Her eyebrows shot up, but she kept her thoughts to herself, then nodded in understanding and ushered Rhett inside.
I took a deep breath, stiffened my spine, and returned home. Paul had resettled in his position on the couch, although at least this time, he’d removed his feet from off my bag. I slammed the front door and planted my hands on my hips, finally releasing that first question raging inside my head.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
Paul patted the seat beside him. “It’s a long story, babe.”
I ignored his offer. “Then you’d better start telling it, hadn’t you?”
He frowned, and his eyes flashed in a well-remembered fashion, which usually preceded a loss of temper. “I thought you’d be happy to see me back.”
My mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me right now? I thought you were dead, Paul. The cops searched everywhere. It was only when they found nothing that I realized you’d just fucked off instead.”
“I didn’t just fuck off,” he said tersely. “And I don’t remember you being this argumentative, or coarse. Maybe watch your mouth a bit, yeah?”
I stuffed my hands into my pockets before I went crazy and wrapped them around his goddamn throat. “You don’t get to come back here after walking out on me and your son two years ago and get to tell me anything. Are we clear?”
He got to his feet, towering above me. I’d forgotten how tall and broad he was, and while a sliver of panic inched down my spine, I refused to show him one ounce of fear.
His hands curved around my face. “God, I’ve missed you, Ev. You and Rhett. I didn’t want to leave. Honest to God. I never stopped thinking about you the entire time I’ve been away.”
To my horror, he lowered his head and went to kiss me. At the last moment, I wrenched away. “What the hell are you doing?” I cried, shoving him backward.
His jaw flexed, and a pulse thrummed in his cheek. “Kissing my girl.”
“Jesus, Paul, are you insane? You left. You made a choice, and that choice didn’t involve me or Rhett.”
“You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” he bit out, jabbing a finger in my direction. “Don’t tell me what I feel, , not for you and certainly not for my son. ”
“Then tell me. Tell me what’s kept you away for two years. ”
His eyes cut to the side, and he grazed his teeth over his bottom lip. When we’d first gotten together, I’d found that habit attractive. Now, I felt nothing. Nothing other than emptiness and a sense of disappointment that I’d given so many years to this man. The next time Nico asked me about my feelings for Paul, I had an answer for him.
“It’s complicated.”
I laughed, the sound bitter. “That’s what people say when they don’t want to tell the truth.” I reached down and picked up the suitcase I’d packed for me and Rhett. “You know what, Paul? Keep your secrets. I don’t care where you’ve been. I’m going away for a few days. You’re welcome to stay the night, but don’t be here when I get back.”
I’d only half turned away when he hauled me back to face him. “You’re going nowhere.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do,” I scoffed, sneering at him despite my racing heartbeat and the chill in my veins.
“You’re my woman,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave. I never wanted this for you or for Rhett. Give me a chance to make it up to you.”
“It’s too late,” I blurted. “I’ve met someone else.”
Paul went very still, tension radiating through his neck, his back, his arms. “What did you say?” he asked, his voice menacingly quiet.
“It’s been two years, Paul. I’ve moved on. We can talk about visitation rights to see Rhett, but as for you and me, it’s over.”
His hand snapped out and locked around my bicep, squeezing until I winced. “It’s over when I say it’s over.”
“Paul, stop. You’re hurting me.”
He let me go as fast as he’d grabbed me, raking a hand through his hair. “God, baby, I’m sorry.” His jaw tightened. “I’ll win you back. Please, give me a chance to win you back, for Rhett’s sake. We’ll take it slow, but don’t give up on me yet.”
“You haven’t even told me where you’ve been, why you left, or how it was that you never even got a message to me. And you talk about wanting me back. It’s too late, Paul. Way too late.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, chin tucked into his chest. “I want to tell you, Ev, so badly. But I can’t. Please, you’re going to have to trust me. It’s better for both of us this way.”
A question sprang to mind, one I couldn’t allow to remain silent. “Are you a drug dealer?”
He barked out a laugh. “No, babe. I’m not a drug dealer. That’s not it at all.”
“Then what is it?” I cried. “For God’s sake, Paul, just tell me.”
His hands came around my face once more, a beseeching look in his eyes. “Don’t throw away all those years, Ev,” he said, ignoring my question. “You have to know that I was in agony every day we spent apart. I ached for you, for Rhett. I’ve been to hell and back. Don’t push me away without giving me a chance to fix us. Rhett deserves to have both his parents.”
I stepped back, and Paul’s hands dropped to his sides. “This is all too much, Paul.” I pressed my fingertips into my temple. “You can’t just disappear for more than two years, then turn up here as if nothing has happened and expect everything to be the same. It isn’t.”
He lowered his chin and nodded. “At least give me a chance to make it up to you. I promise, I’ll never leave either of you again.”
I wished he were lying. I wished he’d never come back. I wished I’d stayed with Nico and never returned to this house. Paul and I were over, but I had to give him a chance to make things up to Rhett.
“If you hurt Rhett,” I said through gritted teeth, “I’ll kill you.”