Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Forest
“What do you mean ‘denied’. I have plenty in my account,” I tell the cashier when my debit card isn’t approved after she rings up the emergency contraceptive.
“Try a different card,” she says with a shrug, looking bored, popping her bubble gum as she drums her fingernails on the counter.
I do. Then a third when my credit card is denied as well.
“I’ll just call my bank,” I mumble, embarrassed as a few other customers sigh and shift with annoyance as the line grows longer behind me.
I’m on hold with my bank for so long that I eventually have to leave the store, and I show up at work twenty minutes late.
“Long night?” Sherman asks when I bump into him in the hallway.
I grip the strap of my laptop bag tighter and hang up on the bank, with which I’m still on hold. I find I can’t quite meet Sherman’s eyes when I tell him, “Yeah, she—the kids had a hard time falling asleep.”
Sherman hums. “That would explain why Autumn didn’t come home ‘til early this morning. Bet those kids had her running ragged.” He cracks a smile.
“I miss my girls running me ragged when they were little. Now they’re all grown up.
” With misty eyes, he says wistfully, “Time flies, so enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Don’t think I’ll miss the sleep-deprivation any time soon,” I say.
“You will. Trust me. There’s nothing better than snuggling your baby close while the rest of the house is asleep.”
Well, crap, now I’m getting all misty-eyed, too. Those days are almost over for me, since Benjamin typically only wakes up once a night now. I treasure those moments alone, getting to know my new son.
Sherman lifts a brow. “Guess you won’t need Autumn’s help much longer, huh?”
“Oh, no,” I say quickly. “I’m sure I will. Now that I’m outnumbered, I don’t know how I could survive without her, even with her teasing me to death,” I tell him truthfully, immediately regretting my loose tongue, in case I’ve offended him.
Sherman makes a short noise of understanding.
“As much as she likes to tease and poke fun at all of us, she’s always been great with kids.
She’ll make a wonderful mother when she finds someone she wants to settle down with.
” Sherman clicks his tongue and tilts his head.
“Hopefully, sooner rather than later, you know, since I’m not getting any younger.
” He pauses for a beat, and when I have nothing to say to that, since I very much do not want to think of Autumn settling down with someone and starting a family, he hums again.
“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. I’m sure Autumn is wondering where you are. ”
There’s an odd sinking sensation in my stomach that I have to shake off when Sherman claps my shoulder and moves to the side, no longer blocking the hall.
“Did you get it?” Autumn asks as soon as I step into our office.
“Uh, no. My cards were declined. I have to call the bank back to find out why.”
“Just great, BigDawg,” Autumn says, throwing her hands up and letting them fall. “If you can’t afford another pill, how the hell can you afford your half of another baby?”
“I can afford it. All of it.” As if I’d make her pay half of anything, let alone our child. “I paid for the nails and that shopping spree with Josephine, didn’t I?”
Autumn rolls her eyes when she pulls out her phone, and I get a notification that she’s sent back the money I’d transferred to her last night.
“I don’t need that.” I send it right back.
“Seems like you do,” she says, pinching her lips, transferring the money once more before she gets to work on her laptop.
It’s a frustrating forty-five minutes later that I finally get a hold of a bank representative, who tells me my cards were locked and transferred to new accounts due to “suspected fraudulent activity” after I’d used them while in another state.
“Can my life get any harder?” I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes at my desk.
It’s going to take a week or so for my new cards to arrive in the mail.
“Don’t answer that,” I say quickly to Autumn, knowing what a brat I sound like.
I have my family, a stable career that pays exceptionally well, and a safe home for my children.
That’s all that matters. I slump back into my chair with a defeated sigh and look up, an icy tendril snaking down my spine. “Autumn?”
She chews the inside of her cheek, sitting stock-still, staring out the window.
“Autumn,” I say again, a rock sinking lower in my gut.
She finally moves, swiveling her chair, and jerks her purse from the drawer in her desk. “I’ll get it,” she says without looking at me, striding to the door, which bangs shut behind her before I can so much as take a breath.