22. Londyn #2
They all seemed to be having such a good time, but the party stopped the second Cotton’s phone started to ring. He stepped away from Cass and Dalton as he took out his phone and answered it. He spoke for a moment, then turned to us and announced, “Sorry, guys, but I’ve gotta go.”
“Ah, man,” Dalton complained.
“I know.” Cotton patted Dalton on the shoulder. “It sucks, but I’ll be back when I can.”
Dalton looked like his world was coming to an end as he placed the balls back on the table and sighed. I could see that Cotton was bothered by his pouting, so I tried to ease his mind by saying, “It’s fine. We’ll watch a movie or something until you get back.”
Cotton nodded, then stepped over to me and said, “Thank you, Londyn. This meant a lot.”
“It meant a lot to me, too.”
He started to walk away but stopped when I said, “Cotton?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s going on with the man who was following me? Was he really trying to hurt me?”
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. It’s been taken care of.”
“But what does that mean?”
“It means that you can stay here and enjoy your son and not worry about the likes of him.” He motioned over at Dalton and smiled. “You’ve got better things to worry about.”
He walked over to Cass and gave her a quick kiss goodbye, then made his way out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I looked over to Dalton and asked, “You wanna see if we can find a movie or something?”
“O-kay.” Dalton followed me over to the sofa and sat down, watching patiently as I started flipping through the kids’ channels. When I came across one of his favorite cartoons, he smiled and shouted, “This one!”
“You got it.”
Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to get enthralled in the show, so I could talk to Cass without worrying about him eavesdropping. I stepped over to her, and before I had a chance to say a word, she reached out and took me into her arms, hugging me tightly. “It’s really good to see you, Londyn.”
“It’s really good to see you, too.”
She released me, then looked me in the eye as she said, “I so hated it when you and Malcomb broke up. I know you were young, but I always thought you two really had something special.”
“I did, too. I still do.” My voice was strained as I told her, “I love Malcomb. I always have.”
She studied me for a moment, then said, “Okay, enough of the chit-chat. I want to know everything.”
She took my hand and led me over to a couple of chairs in the corner. We sat down, and I told her everything—from the breakup to getting the wedding invitation and everything in between. She asked a few questions here and there, but for the most part, she just listened.
When I was done going through it all, she leaned back in her chair and said, “I can understand why you didn’t want to tell Cotton or the brothers, but I don’t get why you wouldn’t have called me or had your mother reach out to me.”
My voice trembled as I told her, “I sent those letters to Malcomb, so I thought you knew. I thought your silence meant you didn’t want to be a part of Dalton’s life.”
“How could you think that?” Cass asked, sounding truly offended. “We loved you.”
“I don’t know. I was in a bad, vulnerable place.
” My chest ached as I told her, “Malcomb wouldn’t answer my calls or see me, and that hurt more than you can imagine.
It broke my heart to think that he didn’t want me and to think he didn’t want Dalton hurt even more.
It made me question everything I’d ever known, and it was just easier to believe that you didn’t want me around, either. I see now just how wrong I was.”
“Oh, honey. I can’t imagine how hard all of this was on you.”
“It wasn’t easy, but I had Dalton to help me through it.”
Cass reached over and placed her hand on mine. "He's amazing, Londyn. You've done an incredible job with him."
"Thank you.” I felt myself blush at the compliment. “He’s my whole world.”
“I remember that feeling.” She glanced over at Dalton as she asked, “So, what now?”
“Malcomb and I are still figuring that out, but I’m thinking I’ll be moving back here in the next couple of weeks—if not sooner.”
“Really?” A big smile swept across her face. “So, things are going good between you two?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m so glad things are working out.”
“Me, too.”
“I bet your parents are excited about you and Dalton being closer.”
“Mom seems pleased, but I have no idea what my father thinks.”
“Why not?”
“I’m still furious with him.” I leaned back in my seat and sighed.
“I just can’t believe that he would do that to me.
I mean, it was one thing to say all those things to Malcomb.
That was so messed up and wrong, but to make matters worse, he kept it all a secret--even when he could see how devastated I was.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him. ”
“That’s understandable.”
“Well, my mother doesn’t see it that way. I can’t talk to her without her pleading with me to forgive him, and I’m not ready for that. And I’m not sure I ever will be.”
“You will.” Cass smiled as she told me, “He’s your father. I know it was wrong, but he did what he did because he loves you and wants the best for you.”
“Well, it was selfish and wrong. He stole five years from us, and that’s time we will never get back.”
“I’m not very pleased about that either. In fact, I’m just as mad as you are.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “But in the end, being angry with him is going to hurt you just as much as it hurts him.”
“Forgive him or not, it’s going to hurt no matter what I do.” I forced a smile as I told her, “But enough about all that. How are things with you and Malcomb’s sisters?”
“Busy as always.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Susana and Darby are officially done with school and are now working in the city. They don’t come home as much as they used to, but I go see them when I can, especially when the house starts to feel too quiet.”
“I’m glad they live close enough for you to go visit.”
“Me, too.” A bright smile crossed her face as she said, “I’m glad you and Dalton are going to move closer, too. I hope that means I’ll get to spend some time with you, too.”
“I would love that.”
Little by little, I was getting my family back.
It was what I always wanted.
I should’ve been ecstatic, but I was far from it. Maybe it was the guy who ran me off the road or the expression on Cotton’s face when he got that phone call, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong—very, very wrong.