Chapter 23
ROSIE
Over the following weeks, we settled back into a routine of school, work, and life in general.
The kids loved their new classes. DJ was immediately bogged down with football practice, the gym, boxing, and his babes, and in the process, he elevated himself to a position where he ruled the school, along with Kai Stone.
It didn’t surprise me; it was pretty much the same at his last school. DJ was a born leader, and I thanked God every day that he used his powers for good and not evil, or else I’d be tearing my hair out.
Gabby finally started to come out of her shell.
My daughter’s friendship with Sunny and Kady had a positive effect.
Her confidence, once tentative, was now on the up, and she started to notice boys taking an interest in her.
Add on the fact that she was smart as a whip, and her teachers were highly impressed with not only her thoughtful intelligence, but also her creativity, and my girl began to instill a new tenacity in everything she did.
Imogen was thriving under Donovan’s watchful and loving care (along with Wilder’s).
Most days when Cara or Cash picked their son up from school, they took him to the gym so he could say hi and play with Immie for an hour.
One day, they didn’t, and Wilder kicked up such a fuss that Cara almost had a mental breakdown. In the end, she gave up, brought him by, and took the kids to Martha’s for lemon heaven cake.
The gym was doing even better. Donovan was slowly turning it into a community hub, not just for the adults, but also for the kids. The announcement of the new boxing league went down a storm, and membership surged.
Yoga and dance classes started up, not just for the kids, but also for the older folks who enjoyed line dancing and even ballroom.
Donovan didn’t discriminate against or stick his nose up at any form of exercise.
His belief was that any type of movement was good for the body and soul, even if it didn’t fit in with the traditional idea of a gym aesthetic.
His great attitude and enthusiasm helped drive the number of people who signed up.
My little business was booming. What made it special was that I could basically do an accountant’s job when it came to tax returns, but on a much smaller scale, which meant lower costs. My client list started to grow to the point where I had a waiting list of people who wanted to work with me.
I had a couple of run-ins with clients, who I met for initial meetings.
Our area was very conservative, so when I turned up with my cleavage showing and big mouth, it didn’t go down well with some.
But money talked, so apart from the odd one or two religious nuts who regarded me as a scarlet woman, most people got over it pretty quickly, especially since word got around that I was providing my services to the local church, free of charge.
I mean, if it was good enough for Jesus...
The only dark cloud on the horizon was Evan and the looming custody case.
There had been no communication with my ex-husband at all. He hadn’t even attempted to call the kids. I took that as a declaration of war, and it made me nervous.
When we got divorced, it took Atlas’s help for me to get through it with my finances and sanity intact, and now, years later, I needed help again.
It made me uncomfortable, but I also wasn’t stupid.
If people offered to have my back, my kids were worth me taking them up on it, because the thought of losing them made me want to throw up.
Everybody around me said I shouldn’t worry, but how could I not?
My babies were hurt and upset, which meant I was too. I hated Evan for putting us through this. All it would have taken was for him to have considered their feelings when it came to Rachel.
My children weren’t ammunition to be used in battle to prove a point, and the sooner Evan learned that, the better it would be for everybody.
Except in the meantime, he risked damaging his relationship with Gabby and DJ in ways that couldn’t be fixed, and despite his behavior, I didn’t want that for them.
My son vowed he would never have anything to do with his father again.
Gabrielle was more forgiving, but she still wasn’t ready to make contact with her dad.
I think the pending court case and seeing me so subdued and frankly downright frightened by the prospect of court, made them gravitate more toward Donovan, who remained his usual good-humored self.
The kids themselves seemed fine, almost resigned to the fact that their dad was being an asshole. Though I think the situation was helped by Donovan, who was amazing with both of them and more than filled the hole their dad had left.
DJ and Gabby had come from school full of gossip, and Donovan was totally invested in the epic unrequited love story of Kai and Sunny. My guy made sure he was home for dinner most nights, purely because he wanted the tea, and tonight was no exception.
I stood at the countertop browning ground beef for lasagna while Donovan chopped garlic and herbs.
He glanced at Gabby and asked, “So you’re telling me that Kai walked down the hall with his arm around Sienna Barrington and Sunny saw everything?”
Gabby made a face and held her index finger in the air, wagging it around as she spoke.
“Yep! And he did it on purpose. He knew Sunny would be there, and he didn’t care.
He’s such a dawg; I mean, when we went to the Superstore for school supplies, he was really nice to her.
Then, as soon as school starts, he’s up to his crappy tricks again.
” She pouted her lips, like she was twenty-five.
“Kai Stone’s the biggest player in school. ”
Donovan shook his head disbelievingly, glancing at me. “Did you hear that? Kai did that? In Sunny’s face?” He pursed his lips, shaking his head as he muttered, “Unbelievable.”
I looked down at my ground beef, my lips twitching.
Donovan passed a piece of carrot he’d just chopped to Imogen, who sat in her highchair, seemingly listening to every word. “You should ask Sunny out, Deej. She looks like a fairy princess.”
I winced.
Shit, that wasn’t good.
Bowie, Sunny’s dad, was a good family friend and one of Atlas’s closest brothers, and my son went through girls in a way that made me sleep with a gun in my nightstand to warn off any angry fathers who came knocking.
The last thing I needed was for DJ to work his alpha-badass-in-training magic on Sunshine Stone of all girls. Everybody knew how protective Bowie Stone was of his daughter. She may not have been his blood, but she was his heart.
“Hell, naw,” DJ drawled, chucking Immie under her chin and smiling. “It’d be like making out with my sister.”
My shoulders relaxed.
“That’s why Kai won’t go there,” he went on.
“I think he likes her, but the family dynamic is weird between them. Anyway, Mav Meadows is interested in Sunny. He’s had his eye on her for a while, but he was waiting for her to age up.
Now, he’s officially warned all the dudes in our class off her, and once a man’s staked his claim, there’s no gettin’ around it. ”
“Oh my God,” Gabby breathed, her eyes widening, “Maverick Meadows is hot. Sunny’s gonna freak.”
“So’s Kai,” Donovan muttered, his knife slicing through the basil leaves. “Mark my words, there’s feels there. A man doesn’t string a girl along the way Kai has with Sunny unless he’s into her. Get me?”
DJ nodded. “Agreed.”
“Well, once Sunny finds out that Mav Meadows is interested, she won’t give Kai a second look,” Gabby declared.
“There are three guys in school who all the girls would kill to date: DJ, Kai, and Mav. Sunny’s choosy, but Mav looks like Gavin Casalegno, and he’s on the football team, and he’s awesome to talk to, and his family owns the huge ranch just outside town, which is so cool. ”
“Looks like who?” Donovan asked, his face confused.
Gabby tapped on her cell phone and turned the screen toward Donovan. “He’s from the show The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
Donovan looked up from the chopping board to study the screen and snorted. “Kai’s in trouble. If Mav Meadows looks like that dude, I’d fuckin’ date him.”
DJ threw his head back and laughed.
Gabby giggled, and Imogen copied her.
I shook my head, smiling.
“And I still can’t believe Kai put his arm around Sienna Barrington,” Donovan went on. “And in Sunny’s face.”
I couldn’t help laughing at how invested he was in the whole epic saga.
He twisted his face toward me. “What? I hate that bitch. Especially after what she did to Dahlia Harris in art class.”
“That was gnarly,” DJ agreed, nodding sagely. “Kai doesn’t like her, like her. She’s just easy.”
“DJ,” I berated softly. “Don’t talk about girls like that.”
“Well, she is,” he said defensively, his cheeks pinkening, suddenly unable to look me in the eye, which no doubt meant he’d gotten to some kind of base with her, though I hated to think which one.
High school was so damned incestuous.
I tipped the ground beef onto a paper towel to drain it and asked Donovan, “What time does the league start tonight?”
“Seven,” he answered. “But me and DJ are getting there about six to set up and make sure the equipment’s clean and spar a round or two.”
“Cool,” DJ breathed. “I’ll call Kai and let him know. He’ll get there early, too.”
I went to the sink to rinse the skillet under the tap. “I’ll cook the lasagna now, but we’ll eat later, which means you’ll need snacks before you go out.”
“Had a big lunch, Ma,” DJ muttered. “I’m good until later.”
“I won’t have time. I’m meeting Sunny and Kady soon for yoga class,” Gabby informed me. “And their moms are coming. You should too, Mom,” she said, almost as an afterthought.