Chapter 4
Cole
How the hell did this happen? She’s watched my boys for four damn days and, somehow, she’s managed to just weave herself into our lives. The boys spend the evenings telling me about all the ‘cool stuff’ they did with Cam and she’s cooked dinner for us every damn night without making a big deal out of it, but here’s the thing…it is a big deal!
This isn’t how things are with Janet who shows up, keeps the boys alive then leaves when I get home. This is her putting in effort to make my boys happy, not just keep them alive. This is her taking the time to feed them real food, not some shit that you microwave. This is her showing up and giving my boys her time and attention without looking at them like they’re a job.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the fact that she’s still refusing to let me pay her! I handed her $100 this morning when she showed up at five in the damn morning and after a lot of arguing, she took it. I thought that was the end of it, but then I got home, two hours later than normal, and she hurried out the door. It wasn’t until I made it into the kitchen that I noticed a glass jar on the counter that had the lid sealed on with enough duct tape to be considered excessive and inside it…the $100 I gave her this morning.
That woman confuses the hell out of me and I’m really struggling to figure her out. She’s not like the women I’m used to, but I can’t tell if it’s just an act, or just if she's just like this. My ex, Sarah, didn’t seem like a selfish, heartless bitch either…until she did. It’s a daily struggle now, half of me wanting to keep her from getting too close while the other half wants to hold onto this little bit of peace, the kind of peace that has my boys smiling, helping with chores, has them feeling more alive than they have since their mom dipped out on us.
“Dad, is Cam coming tomorrow?” Cody’s soft, hopeful voice makes it impossible not to smile as I’m tucking him in for bed.
“Not tomorrow, buddy. I don’t work tomorrow. I think Mrs. Abby will be back to watching you guys next week though.” His disappointment is instant and that shit hits me like a freight train right in the sternum.
“But I like Cam.” I see the tears already pooling in his big blue eyes and it damn near guts me. She’s to close to them and now, no matter what, my boys are going to be destroyed if she bails on them and it’s my fault. I let her in, but I honestly didn’t have a choice.
“I know, buddy. I’ll find out what the plan is for next week in the morning. Get some sleep. I love you.” I place a kiss on his forehead, but I don’t miss the slight stutter in his breath as he fights back those tears.
“Love you too.” I check to make sure Joey is still asleep then grab the baby monitor, head downstairs, grab a beer and slip out onto the front porch. I was expecting to sit down and enjoy a beer in peace, but I barely sit my ass down before I hear Miss Mary’s voice and she sounds upset.
“Cam, sweetheart, you know what he’s doing. That fool will never change. Why the hell would you agree to meet with him?”
“Grams, I swear to you, I have absolutely no intention of buying his bullshit, but I know he won’t stop until I at least hear him out. He’s been calling and texting every damn day. Hell, the asshole even sent me an email for Christ’s sake! I just want him to stop and if meeting him to hear whatever stupid shit he has to say will get me that, then I need to do it.”
“I don’t want him here, Cam. I won’t welcome that lying, cheating prick into my home.”
“I know, but that’s why I agreed to meet him at the diner in town. I just want him to back off, grams. I just want to get on with my life.”
“Well, why don’t you block him? That’s a thing you kids do, right? Block people? Or is it freeze them?” Cam’s soft chuckle combined with Mary’s confused voice has even me smiling from my damn porch.
“It’s blocking and I have blocked him, grams. I blocked his number four times, but he just keeps calling from different ones. I’ve blocked his email address and he just makes a new one. It’s not like I haven’t tried cutting him out of my life, but he's like a damn parasite. I’ve tried everything! Hell, I tried getting a restraining order for harassment and the judge said I didn’t have sufficient grounds to file.” God, this guy sounds like a total prick.
“I don’t want you going alone, Cam. I don’t trust him.”
“Yeah, well I don’t trust him either, but I can’t have people fighting my battles for me either. Besides, who the hell would I have go with me? You would strangle him the second you see him and I don’t really know anyone else here that I could ask to suffer through a meeting with my ex.”
“Where are you meeting him and when?”
“Tomorrow morning at June’s Diner, nine o’clock. Why?”
“So I know where to look if you aren’t back within two hours. He lays a hand on you or says one wrong thing…I’ll castrate the bastard myself.”
“I’ll be okay, grams…I will.”
“Well, let’s get our asses to bed so we can make sure you’re ready to face that asshole in the morning.” I hear their footsteps on the porch followed by the sound of the door creaking open then closing. Don’t ask my why, but I down my beer and turn in for the night while the only damn thing I can think of is getting up early so I can call Brett to have him sit with the boys while I go to the diner in the morning.
Why the hell am I here? It’s ten minutes till nine and I’m sitting in this diner for reasons I honestly don’t understand while I watch the doors, waiting. At five till, a tall man with a lean body and a fancy ass suit walks in. The waitress leads him to a booth about ten feet away from mine and a few minutes later, she walks in, not bothering to wait for the waitress before making her way to the table where the man's sitting. With my hat on and my head down, she doesn’t notice me, or maybe her mind is just too focused on the man at the booth to take in her surroundings. She slides into the booth, sitting across from him, and her first question is out before the creaking of the vinyl even fully fades.
“What the hell do you want, Dalton?”
“Look, I know we had some problems, Cam, but I think I deserved a chance to prove I could change. Instead of getting a second chance, you served me with divorce papers. I think you were being completely unreasonable.”
“And I think you dicking down your brother’s fiancé was unreasonable, but that didn’t stop you now, did it?”
“Cam, you know you raked my ass over the coals in that divorce. We were married for four years and they gave you half of everything! You didn’t earn any of it, you just stayed home and didn’t do a damn thing, but they gave you half of everything I worked my ass off to build!”
“Ah, I see. You aren’t here about me…you’re here about the money? Well, let me clue you into something. While you were working late hours, going on business trips, attending training seminars and all that other work shit that was code for screwing your brother’s fiancé, I wasn’t just sitting around doing nothing. I started working three months after we got married. I worked from home, kept the house clean, cooked every damn meal, ninety percent of which you never showed up for, and all the while, you were spending your time and money on someone else. No matter how you spin it, you’re the asshole here, not me.”
“Look, I know I screwed up, okay? I screwed up with Ally, I screwed up with my job and I screwed up with some of my investments. I figured that maybe, if we sit down like adults and I explained things, maybe we could come to an agreement and you could give back some of the money you stole in the divorce.”
“Stole? The money I stole in the divorce? Are you kidding me right now?! I didn’t steal a damn thing, Dalton! The judge decided that the money I was given was the closest he could get to compensating me for the four years of my life that you wasted! That money, you’ll never see a god damned dime of it. Now, I suggest you lose my number, forget my name and move on with your life because we’re done here. I don’t owe you a damn thing and the truth is, the best decision I ever made was divorcing your sorry ass.” I hear the vinyl cushion creak as she slides out of the booth, but then that prick does something that has me flying out of my seat in a flash…he grabs her arm and jerks her toward him.
“You listen here…” Before he can finish whatever bullshit he’s about to say, my hand is gripping his wrist tightly, tight enough that he releases her before she can even blink.
“No, you listen, asshole. If you ever lay a finger on her again…if you ever call her, text her, email her, hell, if you so much as send a damn carrier pigeon to her, I’ll end you.” He tries to jerk his arm back, but my grip only tightens which makes him wince from the pressure.
“Fine! Now get your fucking hands off me, asshole!” I finally let go, but acting on instinct, I move myself in front of her, preventing him from being able to so much as see her, let alone touch her again.
“I hope you know that she’s not worth it. She’s a shit lay, she’s lazy and she’s can’t cook worth a damn either. She’s literally useless, so don’t be a fool. Don’t waste your time on her when you can find a better woman on any street corner.” He storms off and my eyes track his movement until he’s out the door, but that’s when I notice her lowered head and shaking shoulders. I swear, I’m running purely on instinct now because I don’t even hesitate to pull her into me and wrap my arms around her tight as she continues to sob.
“Cole, I called the sheriff. I think she should file a restraining order and every damn person here will fill out statements to help out.” I nod my head at the waitress, more to get her to go away than in agreement at the moment. I carefully guide her back to the booth until she sits down then I kneel down in front of her.
“Look at me, Cam.” It takes a second, but she lifts her chin until those glassy green eyes finally meet mine.
“That asshole was trying to hurt you, but not a damn thing he said was true. Becca called the sheriff and when he gets here, we’re going to fill out a statement and file for an emergency protection order. Every person here is going to write statements too. Don’t you dare let yourself believe a word that fucker said to you. Don’t you dare let him win.” She takes a deep, stuttering breath then slowly nods.
“Okay.” It’s one word that’s delivered on a shaky breath, but it’s enough for now. I flag Becca down and have her bring me and Cam a coffee, but I move us to my booth, wanting to get her away from the spot where it all went down. Once the sheriff arrives, things move fast. Cam fills out her statement and between me and the other people here, both customers and staff, he has nine witness statements to back Cam’s. He calls the judge directly, one of the many perks of living in a small ass town, and gets the order approved with no fanfare.
“Alright, now that all that’s sorted, why don’t we get out of here?” She nods, but it’s impossible to miss how much this whole mess is weighing on her.
“Hey, I was wondering…would you be willing to have the boys help you make some more of those cookies? I’ve been dying for some all damn week.” It’s a weak attempt to flip her mood, but I’m relieved when I see the soft smile as she nods her head.
“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll need maybe an hour after I get back though. I need to tell grams everything.” I easily agree then wait for her to get into her car and drive away before climbing into my truck. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but for once, I’m not pissed off at myself for trying to help a woman out. Hell, as much as I don’t want to admit it, it felt damn good to see her smile because of me.