31. Cal
Cal
D ani’s phone rings with the most obnoxious, inappropriate ringtone as Mac and family make their exit.
She glances at the caller ID and huffs as a litany of curse words from a rap song fills the room, then returns it to her back pocket without answering or muting the ringer.
Seconds after that blessed silence falls, the song blares again.
“Jesus, Dani,” I bark. “Either answer it or decline it.” I’ve tried very hard to keep things kid friendly ever since that dinner at Steve’s when the littles started repeating cuss words. Charlie is a little sponge right now, and the last thing I want is to hear the word fuck fall from her lips.
Dani gives me an eye roll, but the obnoxious sound ends.
“Who are you avoiding?” I lean with my back to the kitchen island and glare at my sister. I’m not going to go soft on her. She didn’t give me the full story earlier. I know it, and she knows I know. I also know she’ll try to skate by with the bare minimum of effort if I allow it.
Dani glances at Jules. “Can this wait?”
“No. Jules is as much a part of this as I am. She’s been the one covering nights for me when I have to work.”
Jules clears her throat. “Actually. I think Dani is right. This needs to be between the two of you.”
My eyes flash to her, even as my fingers tighten, gripping the counter behind me. Not this again. Not her pulling away again . We’ve been over this so many times already. I want her here. I always want her here.
She closes the distance between us and stops with her hand on my chest. “Talk it out with your sister. Call me later.” She goes up on tiptoe to press a kiss to my lips. If I let go of this countertop, I’ll want to wrap my arms around her. And she’s seen me weak enough today.
I forcibly relax my shoulders and ease my hands around Jules’s waist. “Okay.”
She goes out the balcony door to her apartment, and Dani doesn’t miss the exchange.
“So it’s like that?”
“Like what?”
“Serious? With Jules, I mean.”
“It’s getting there.”
Dani picks at the edge of her shirt. “Okay. That’s kind of weird, but to each their own, I guess.”
I’m taken aback.
“How’s it weird?”
Dani’s hand flops into her lap. “You know. She’s just a lot older. That’s all.”
“She’s not that much older.”
“I’d be willing to bet that she’s old enough that she could be my mom. That’s weird.”
Now that she mentions it, I guess she’s right. If Jules had been like Dani and gotten pregnant at sixteen. But I don’t see an older woman when I look at Jules. I just see my woman.
“Whatever. So she’s too old for you, but she’s perfect for me. Now, let’s back up and go over all the things that you neglected to share earlier.”
She retreats to the floor in front of the couch and gathers Charlie onto her lap, who allows it for all of two seconds before she’s off and running again.
Dani’s gaze follows her daughter for a long moment before she sighs.
“You know, I hated you for a while when you left.” Her admission hits me like a punch in the gut. “You were my hero, and you left me.”
“Dani, I?—”
“No, let me finish. I want to tell you everything, but I need you to promise that you’ll give me a chance to finish before you jump in and derail the conversation.”
She waits until I agree with a nod.
“I’m not sure if you realized how bad it was at home after you left.
Mom was mad—well, even madder—all the time.
Cussing your name up one side and down the other.
I was really mad until that day you came back and left me your new phone number.
I figured there was a reason that you shared it with me and not Mom. ”
Dani had been all of thirteen when I’d done that. These feelings she’s sharing are old wounds. Ones I’d caused.
“Anyway, I never told you that I was mad. But I was, until I got pregnant, and then Ritchie went to jail.” Tears glimmer in her eyes.
“I’ll never be able to thank you for being there when I called and told you I was pregnant.
I was so scared. And you were living this awesome new life, and it looked so shiny.
And without all the bullshit of living with Tabby. ”
I nod, remembering the exact phone call she’s talking about.
“I should’ve done more for you.”
“You took care of me when no one else would. That’s more than anyone has ever done for me.”
Charlie runs by, and Dani catches her in a flyby hug, making Charlie squeal in delight.
“But it all got to be too much. I couldn’t take care of Charlie, not the way I knew she deserved to be taken care of. Plus, I was tired. So damn tired.”
She pauses, and there are a million and one things I want to say, but I hold my tongue, even though it’s killing me. Still, I can’t help but say, “Dani, you can’t just walk out on your child because you’re tired. Come on. That’s a Tabby move, and you know it.”
Dani sighs and closes her eyes. “Believe me, I had a good, long think while I was locked up.”
“And?”
“And I decided that if you could get out and start over, then I could too. If you could make something of your life, I could too. I didn’t want to go down for something I really had no business with. I didn’t want to lose Charlie permanently. So I made a deal with the prosecutor.”
Oh fuck .
“That’s why Tabby and Ritchie were able to get out before I did.
I agreed to tell them everything I know about Ritchie and his guys in exchange for a clean record, all charges dropped, and no threat of losing my baby.
When I got out, I was already headed to pack my bags and come here.
But walking in on him with her…” She crumbles into tears, and I’m done.
I can’t hold back anymore. I slide to the floor beside her and wrap her in my arms. “Jesus, Danielle. I’m so sorry.”
All the ways I’ve failed my baby sister run through my head. “I never should’ve left you.”
She shakes her head against my chest. “You had to. If you hadn’t, there’s no telling where we’d be. We certainly wouldn’t be sitting in a posh apartment in this cute little town. You’d still be my hero, but you wouldn’t have become one for everyone else.”
“I’m no hero.”
“Sure you are. To me. To Charlie. To Jules, even. I’m betting you’ve saved a few lives this year too.”
I recall the mom from weeks ago that I wasn’t able to save. “Trust me. I’m no hero. I’m just a guy doing the best he can.”
“Anyway.” She pulls back, wiping the tears from her face. “I came here for Charlie. I was planning on taking her back with me, maybe hide out for a little while until Ritchie’s case goes to court, and then start over somewhere.”
My stomach heads south. Just drops right out. I knew it was a possibility, but I wasn’t prepared to hear the actual words come from Dani’s lips.
“But I see how happy Charlie is, and I can’t do it.” Her chin trembles as tears threaten again.
The relief I feel is immediately overshadowed by what my sister hasn’t said.
“Dani, are you in danger? Do you think Ritchie is going to come after you?”
She scoffs. “No. He doesn’t give a damn about me or Charlie, for that matter. Plus, it’s not like I told them anything they probably didn’t already have on him.”
I’m not equipped to handle this conversation anymore. To put an end to the discussion, I slide an arm around her shoulders and hold her close. “I think you made the right call to bring Charlie to me. I hate the way you did it. If you’d just called me, maybe I could’ve helped you too.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t want you to leave. I want you and Charlie to be here.”
I don’t have a damn clue how that’s going to work out, but I’ll figure something out. As long as I can keep my little hodgepodge family safe, everything will work out.