Chapter 24 Blayne
Twenty Four
Blayne
Something’s off with Reggie. Has been since that phone call yesterday, and she’s pretending everything’s fine when it’s clearly not.
I’m in the kitchen making coffee when she comes downstairs, already dressed and looking like she didn’t sleep much.
“Morning,” I say, handing her a mug.
“Morning. Thanks.”
She takes a sip and stares out the window at nothing. The kids are still asleep, house is quiet, and normally this is our time. To whisper together like teenagers in love, laugh, make-out… just be happy, in love. But she’s somewhere else entirely.
“You gonna tell me what’s eating at you?” I ask.
“Nothing’s eating at me.”
“Bullshit. You’ve been weird since that call yesterday.”
“I’m not being weird.”
“Reggie.”
She sighs and sits down at the table. “It was Richard.”
“Figured. What’d he want?”
“To visit. Says he misses the kids.”
“And?”
“And he heard your voice in the background.”
Ah. There it is. “So?”
“So now he knows I’m living with someone.”
“That a problem?”
“I don’t know, Blayne. Maybe. He was… he sounded mad when he figured it out. Like he was planning something.”
I sit across from her, trying to read her expression. “What kind of something?”
“I don’t know, baby. But Richard doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way. And me moving on, being happy… that’s definitely not going his way.”
“He can’t do anything about it. You’re divorced.”
She scoffs. “You don’t know him.”
“No, but I know the law. He can’t just show up here and start shit.”
“He can if it involves his kids.”
That stops me cold. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he could claim that my living with a man is bad for them. Try to get the custody changed or something.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? I’m a recently divorced woman living with a man my kids barely know.”
“The kids have known me for months. And they love it here.”
“Richard doesn’t know that. All he knows is what he heard on the phone.”
I can see where her head’s going, and I don’t like it. “Reggie…”
“Maybe this was too fast. Maybe we should’ve waited longer before moving in together.”
“No.”
“Blayne…”
“No. We’re not doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Letting your asshole ex-husband mess with what we’ve got.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is that simple. You’re happy. The kids are happy. End of story.”
“What if he tries to take them, Blayne?”
“He won’t get them.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he’d have to prove you’re an unfit mother, and that’s impossible. Because any judge who spends five minutes with those kids will see how much they love you. Because he’s full of shit and you know it.”
She’s quiet for a minute, just staring into her coffee.
“I can’t lose them, baby,” she says finally.
“You won’t.”
“You don’t understand. When we got divorced, I gave up everything else. The house, most of the money, everything. But I got the kids. They’re all I have.”
“They’re not all you have.”
“They’re the most important thing I have.”
“I know that. And nothing’s gonna happen to them.”
“You can’t promise that.”
She’s right. I can’t. But I can promise other things.
“I can promise that if he tries anything, he’ll have to go through me first.”
“Blayne..”
“I’m serious. Those kids are mine too now. Not legally, maybe, but in every way that matters. And nobody fucks with my family.”
“Your family?”
“Yeah. My family.”
She stares at me for a long beat. And I think I made a dent in her panic.
“But what if…”
“Mom?” Nia’s voice comes from the doorway. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, baby,” Reggie replies, but her voice is tight.
“Doesn’t sound fine.” Nia comes into the kitchen, followed by Jaylen and Annalise. “You guys fighting?”
“We’re not fighting,” I tell her.
“Then why does Mom look like she’s about to cry?”
My girl’s too smart.
“Your mom’s just worried about something,” I say. “But it’s gonna be fine.”
“Worried about what?” Jaylen asks.
Reggie looks at me, and I can see her trying to figure out how much to tell them.
“Your dad called yesterday,” she says finally. “He wants to come visit.”
“Why?” Nia asks, and there’s something in her voice I don’t like.
“He says he misses you guys.”
“Since when?” Jaylen’s voice is flat. “He didn’t miss us when we lived with him.”
“Jaylen…”
“What? It’s true. He was never around anyway.”
“He’s still your father.”
“So? That doesn’t mean we want to see him.”
“I want to see Daddy,” Annalise says quietly.
“Of course you do, baby,” Reggie says, pulling her onto her lap. “And you will. We just need to figure out when and how.”
“I don’t,” Nia says.
“Nia…”
“He cheated on you, Mom. Why would I want to see him?”
“Because he loves you.”
“If he loved us, he wouldn’t have hurt you.”
Fuck.
“Look,” I say, “I know this is complicated. But whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together. All of us.”
“What if he tries to make us go back with him?” Nia asks.
“That’s not gonna happen,” I say firmly.
“How do you know?”
“Because your mom won’t let it happen. And neither will I.”
“You’d fight for us?” Annalise asks.
“Damn right I would.”
“Even though we’re not really your kids?” Jaylen asks.
“You are really my kids. Maybe not biologically, but in every way that counts.”
“Really?” he insists.
“Really.” I hold his searching gaze steadily.
“So if Dad tries to take us away, you’ll stop him?”
“I’ll do everything I can to stop him.”
They seem satisfied with that, and breakfast moves on to more normal stuff. Annalise wants pancakes, Nia complains about having to get dressed, and Jaylen asks if he can borrow my truck when he gets his license.
But I can see Reggie’s still worried. Still thinking about worst-case scenarios and all the ways things could go wrong.
After the kids leave for school, I find her in the laundry room, folding clothes with more force than necessary.
“You know I meant what I said, right?” I tell her.
“About what?”
“About fighting for them. For all of you.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Because you still look like you’re planning to run.”
She stops folding and looks at me. “I’m not planning to run.”
“Good. Because we’re stronger together than apart.”
“Are we?”
“Hell yes. You think some rich asshole from the city scares me?”
“He should. He’s got money, lawyers, connections…”
I smirk, and it’s a mean, evil expression I know I haven’t worn in a long time. “Baby, I got all that, and something he doesn’t.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve got a family who loves me. Kids who trust me. A woman who’s worth fighting for.”
“Blayne…”
“And I’ve got years of being part of this community. People here know me, trust me. That matters.”
“Maybe.”
“Not maybe. Definitely.”
I pull her into my arms, and she melts against me like she always does.
“We’re gonna be okay,” I tell her.
“You sure?”
“Positive. Richard can bring all the lawyers he wants. But at the end of the day, this is about what’s best for the kids. And what’s best for them is staying here, with you, in a place where they’re happy and loved.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am right. We’ll figure it out.”
“Together?”
“Together.”
She pulls back to look at me, and I can see some of the worry fading from her eyes.
“I love you,” she says.
“I love you too. All of you. And that’s not changing, no matter what your ex tries to pull.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. We’ll face whatever comes next.”
“Damn right we will.”