Chapter Forty-Five
Ashley
“I have to go downstairs and help the guys fix dinner,” I said to Tammy.
“Do you need me to do anything while you’re down there?”
“No. She shouldn’t be hungry for another hour. Are you sure you don’t mind staying?”
“I can stay as long as you need me to. I assumed you’d need me at least until the guys went to bed.”
“That’d be perfect. I appreciate you.”
“I’m here for you, babe.”
“And I love you for that.” I took a big inhale and let it out slowly. “Okay, I’m going to go be the most professional PTA there ever was!”
Tammy snorted. “Good luck with that. And tell Ryan I said hi if he’s still here.”
“He’s still here. None of the cameras went off.”
I hesitated at the door leading to the stairs to the main house.
My BFF winked at me. “You got this. You’re a fucking badass mama, now.”
“I am a badass mama,” I reminded myself and opened the door. But as I descended the stairs, another thought crept into my brain. I’m a mama because of the man who’d just moved in.
The one who didn’t want anything to do with me or my daughter.
So, fuck him. He wasn’t anything but a patient now, and I had a job to do.
I was glad to see someone had picked up the grocery bags and items from the floor and put the contents on the counter.
“Hey,” I called to Crash and Stu who were sitting on the couch playing a video game. “Who’s helping me with dinner tonight?”
“Are you still going to make a cheesecake?” Stu asked, his eyes remaining on his game.
“Yeah, I can, if one of you works on dinner.”
“What if I help with dinner?” a voice called from the doorway of Scotty’s old room.
I looked to see Ryan standing there.
“It’s kind of a house rule that one of the residents helps.”
He walked toward the kitchen with a cautious smile.
“Maybe you could make an exception just this once.”
I’d always liked Ryan. Even while dealing with Grace’s recovery from her car accident, he’d been kind and thoughtful when Sloane was in a coma in Germany; always making sure to call me daily even if there wasn’t any news. And he’d tried to stay in touch, but I’d blocked him and the rest of Sloane’s friends on social media once I started posting updates on my pregnancy.
“Yeah, okay,” I said returning his smile. “Just this once.”
He came around the counter and pulled me into a side hug. “It’s good to see you, Ash.”
“Good to see you, too.”
I was worried he was going to try to defend Sloane, but he didn’t, he just said, “So, what are we making?” and let me put him to work.
I asked him about Grace, and he caught me up with what was going on with them, including that she was going to be doing her residency in San Diego.
“That’s wonderful!”
“Yeah. I was worried I was going to have to move.”
“You would’ve done that?” I asked as I slid the cheesecake in the bottom oven of the double oven and set the timer.
“To be with her? Heck yes.”
One of my favorite things about Ryan was how in love he was with Grace, and how he’d never been afraid to show it.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to move.”
“Me too. You sure I’m not supposed to cook these noodles?” he asked as he put the final layer on the lasagna.
“Positive. We try to make simple recipes the guys can do when they’re living on their own. No-cook noodles and marinara in a jar are the easiest ingredients to use.”
“Wouldn’t a store-bought one be the easiest?”
“I’m sorry, I should have clarified. Easy and delicious.”
I nodded toward the top oven. “It’s preheated and ready.”
He put the pan in, closed the door, then leaned against the counter.
“So, tell me about your daughter.”
I felt myself smile at the thought of Millie, even if I was suspicious about why he wanted to know about her.
“She’ll be six weeks old tomorrow. She’s a good baby; she loves baths, and she just smiled her first smile yesterday.”
My description of her made the corner of his mouth turn up.
“Does she sleep through the night?”
“No, not yet. She still needs to eat about every three hours.”
“The little bit I saw of her, she’s beautiful.”
“She is.”
His body language shifted, and I knew what was coming next.
“Do you think Sloane could meet her?”
“I don’t see why that’s necessary. He made his choice. I’ve accepted it; he should, too.”
“Would you believe me if I told you he didn’t know about her until an hour ago?”
“Nope. I know he got the letter. I sent it certified.”
God, I was glad I’d followed Tam’s advice and done that.
“He got it. But he never opened it. I swear to you, he didn’t. I just saw him open it once you went upstairs.”
He hadn’t known about her?
I felt the blood drain from my face, like it had when I’d first seen Sloane standing in the family room. So, I was surprised I was able to come up with a snappy comeback.
“So, do you think if the courts sent him a certified letter, they’d accept ‘I didn’t open it’ as a defense for not responding?”
“No, probably not.”
“No. And neither do I.”
“Ash—”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Ryan. I did the right thing and told him about Millie. It’s not my problem he chose not to open the letter. The letter I had to muster up the courage to send once he sent back all my letters and refused to take my call, I might add.”
“He sent your letters back?”
“Yeah, dozens of them. Unopened. He couldn’t even be bothered to read what I’d had to say. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to learn he didn’t bother opening the last one I sent.”
“He wasn’t in a good place…”
“So? Neither was I. But I put my big girl panties on and womaned up. Just like I’m going to do now until Travis can find someone to replace me. I’ll be a professional and help with his therapy and getting him ready to transition to live independently. But as far as our history together goes, it’s just that. History . And seeing Millie is out of the question.”
I must have been worked up because I hadn’t even heard Sloane make his way to the kitchen until I heard his deep voice say, “She’s my daughter, too. You even said so in your letter.”
Spinning around, I saw him standing a foot from the kitchen island with his hands on his walker. It was a shock to see him so close. His visible battle wounds reminded me of the hell he’d been through.
Part of me wanted to wrap my arms around him in a comforting hug.
But then I remembered he didn’t want anything to do with me. At least not like that. Not anymore.
“I was just trying to get money from you,” I shot back. “She’s not yours.”
The corner of his mouth turned up, and he moved his walker closer.
“Oh yeah? Whose is she then?”
“A guy I was seeing. A doctor from the VA.”
He nodded his head slowly, that goddamn grin still on his face revealing his dimple.
“And a DNA test would support that?”
I swallowed hard but didn’t break my gaze from his.
“Absolutely.”
“Good. My lawyer said it should be an easy enough matter to settle then. He can have someone out here by tomorrow to take a cheek swab.”
I suddenly understood the mama bear reference, because my bear was ready to tear his good leg off.
“ Fuck you . Over my dead body will anyone touch my daughter without my permission.”
With shaky legs, I went around the island so I wouldn’t have any contact with him as I made my way toward the stairs. Crash and Stu had paused their game and were watching our exchange with wide eyes.
“I can get a court order…” he called after me.
“You go ahead and do that, Captain Davidson.”
How did I ever think I could be in love with this guy? Two minutes with him, and I wanted to throat-punch him. I’m pretty sure there was something in the VA’s handbook about not punching patients.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard Ryan say in an incredulous tone, “Dude, what part of groveling did you not understand?”
****
Sloane
“Are you a fucking moron?” Stu hissed as he rose from the couch once Ashley slammed the door to her apartment.
I knew I had been an utter asshole, yet like an out-of-control freight train, I’d felt helpless to stop it.
“I was trying to call her bluff.”
“By bulldozing her with bullshit about talking to a lawyer?” Ryan asked, shaking his head. “You were supposed to grovel, jackass. Grrrrrooovel. That was not groveling! That was the opposite of groveling!”
The upstairs door opened, and I looked up, half-expecting to see Ashley with Millie at the top of the stairs. Instead, Tammy came bounding out with daggers shooting from her eyes, and they were aimed directly at me.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I—”
The little spitfire charged at me.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You shit all over Ashley, send her back her letters, and basically tell her you don’t want anything to do with her. Then she finds out she’s pregnant and even after how you treated her, she still finds the balls to try to tell you. Because she’s a good person and she thought it was the right thing to do . And you still shit all over her and ghosted her. And now you’re threatening her with a lawyer? I didn’t think you could be a bigger asshole before today, but apparently, I was wrong.”
Aw fuck.
I closed my eyes and hung my head.
“I handled this all wrong. I heard her talking to Ryan and thought I’d come out to try to apologize. Then she said seeing Millie was out of the question, and it just unraveled from there. I was just trying to call her bluff. You and I both know Millie is mine, and she’s just making that shit up.”
“Because you backed her into a corner!”
“Look, I just want to meet Millie. For ten minutes. I promise that’s all I want.”
“Well, that might be kind of hard because Ashley’s upstairs packing her shit, getting ready to bolt.” Tammy jabbed her finger at me. “I swear to God, if my friend disappears, I will make it my mission to make your life a living hell.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Too late.”
She finally seemed to take in my appearance and that settled her down a little.
“Just ten minutes,” Ryan reiterated.
“And you’ll drop all this lawyer talk and apologize ?”
I covered my pinky with my thumb and held up my three middle fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
Tammy eyed me suspiciously, but grumbled, “Let me talk to her.”
Ryan asked, “Can I go with you?”