Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DANIKA
Iwas beside myself with glee as I watched Macie flip and leap along the balance beam. For the first several minutes, I’d watched with my heart in my throat, afraid she’d fall and get hurt, but it quickly became obvious that my girl had immense talent in more than just baking. She owned that beam.
“Way to go, honey!” I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth so she could hear. “You’re incredible!”
She hopped onto the mats and glanced back at me, her cheeks flushed and a tiny smile on her lips as she gave me a little wave and turned to listen to something her coach was saying.
“First time watching her?”
I turned to look at the woman who’d just come up beside me, smiling as I nodded. “Yeah. If this is how I get watching her practice I probably shouldn’t come to any of her meets. I’ll just embarrass the poor girl.”
“Nah,” the woman said. “I can see her face. She’s loved every second of you cheering for her.” She extended her hand my way. “I’m Lois.”
“Dani,” I said, giving her hand a shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. So how do you know Macie?”
I probably should have prepared for questions like that. Leo said Macie had been with this gym since she was little, so all the parents and kids knew each other. “Oh, um . . . I’m dating her father, Leo.”
Lois’ eyes went wide. “Oh, so you’re that Dani.
” At my concerned expression she quickly waved her hands in front of her.
“I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I didn’t mean it in a bad way.
I just mean, she’s talked about you. Quite a bit.
She’s told us about your dog and your baking lessons. That girl really likes you.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” I said on a croak, my throat growing thick with emotion. “I really like her too.”
Lois turned back to watch the floor and I figured the conversation was over.
I found out I was wrong when she spoke up a few seconds later.
“Nice to see she’s got a woman in her life that’ll cheer her on.
That mother of hers,” she said with a sneer in her voice as she shook her head.
“Either sits up in the stands with her face in her phone or cackling with her snooty friends. Hardly ever pays her own girl a bit of attention. Certainly never cheers her on.”
I opened my mouth to ask her more, to ask if she’d possibly seen anything recently that would explain the change in Macie, because I was sure it wasn’t just about how poorly Whitney had handled her daughter’s first period.
But before I could get the words out, a voice like nails on a chalkboard yelled out so loud it carried through the entire gym.
“Bitch! Who the hell do you think you are, being here?”
I whipped around to see Whitney had arrived, probably called by one of those snooty friends to inform her I was there. “You have no right to be here!” she continued yelling. “You already took my husband and my son. I’ll be damned if I let you take my daughter too!”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Macie came jogging off the mats, but instead of going to Whitney, she reached my side and grabbed hold of my arm, clinging tight as she whispered, “Dani?” in a tone so full of panic, it made my blood boil.
“Macie, get over here right now. We’re leaving!”
“Ms. Drake,” the coach called out, coming to stand between us and Whitney. “Ma’am, I’m gonna have to ask you to lower your voice and watch your language around my kids. If you can’t do that, you’ll be forced to leave my gym.”
She looked up at the man, much taller and stronger than she was, and curled her top lip. “You can’t make me do a damn thing. I pay for my girl to be in your gym.”
She turned her sights back to her daughter and sidestepped the coach.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Move it. We’re going.
Now!” She reached out and tried to grab Macie’s arm, but I moved faster.
I pulled her back and tucked her behind me, doing my best to keep my voice calm in the face of this despicable woman.
“You aren’t taking her anywhere. She’s going to finish her practice, then I’m taking her back to her dad’s.
It’s his week. You’ll see her on Monday. ”
“If her dad gave a shit then he’d be here instead of having his skanky sidepiece cart my daughter around. Now move the hell out of my way.”
Whitney lunged, trying to get to Macie, but I took a step back, shuffling her along with me.
“Dani,” Macie said, her voice shaking. “I don’t wanna go with her. Please, let me stay with you.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” I told her in a soothing tone. “You’re going home with me. I promise.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you, slut!
” I made a mistake in taking my eyes off Whitney, just for a second.
Before I had a chance to react, she advanced, coming at me with her arm thrown wide.
I tried to move Macie out of the way, but before I could, Whitney’s palm slammed against my cheek.
Mid-slap, she curled her fingers, digging her nails into my skin and raking them down the side of my face.
It wasn’t hard enough to knock me down, but I still teetered to the side, one whole side of my face feeling like it had caught fire.
Everyone around us burst into motion just then. A line of moms formed between Macie and me, and the coach trapped Whitney in a bear hug from behind, holding her in place as she thrashed and screamed against him.
“I’ve called the cops,” Lois said, moving in to inspect my cheek, but I quickly brushed her off, needing to get to Macie.
Tears where pouring down her pale cheeks as I dropped to my knees in front of her, offering her a smile against the pain in my cheek. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. I promise. It’s all gonna be okay.”
“She . . . sh-she hit you,” Macie cried, the tears coming harder and faster.
“It was nothing, baby. Look at me. I’m fine. I swear. It was just a slap.”
“B-but you’re bleeding.”
“Just little scratches,” I replied, running my hands up and down her arms, trying to hold her attention so she wouldn’t focus on her mother screaming terrible, vile things. “A little antibiotic ointment, and I’ll be good as new.”
She sniffled, batting at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “R-really?”
“Absolutely.”
Turning my head and looking up, I saw Lois was standing right at my side. “Is there an office or something in the back where Macie can stay for a little bit?”
“Absolutely. I’ll take her.” She held out her hand to Macie, but my girl grabbed my arm in a death grip.
“Go with Lois, honey. I’ll be right there. I promise. I’m right behind you.”
She hesitated for a second longer, but finally let me go and allowed Lois lead her off. Once she was out of earshot, I rose to my feet and slowly turned to face the bitch who’d just scared the hell out of her daughter.
“What?” she asked on a sneer. “Still too pathetic to stand up for yourself Dorky Dani? Just gonna let me hit you and walk away?”
“Yes,” I hissed, getting in her face. “Because what you just did? That’s assault. In front of plenty of witnesses.”
“I got it all recorded on my phone,” one of the moms shouted, causing Whitney to stop struggling and all the color to drain from her face.
“That means, after this scene and you slapping me, Leo has everything he needs to get his daughter away from a poisonous, disgusting woman like you for good.”
With that, I shouldered past her and headed toward the office so I could take care of my girl.
Leo
I stormed into the gym to find two uniformed officers already there, asking questions while Whitney sat on the bottom bleacher, her hands cuffed behind her back. The second she saw me, her eyes went big and she shot to her feet.
“Leo! Leo, please. You have to talk to them.” The officer closest to her placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back to sitting. But she didn’t give up. “This is ridiculous. You can’t let them arrest me. Please! I’m your wife.”
“Ex-wife,” I hissed, stopping a foot away and bending at the waist so we were nose to nose. “You put your hands on my woman. You scared my daughter. There’s no fuckin’ way in hell I’d ever help you.”
“Please,” she begged, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. “If you ever cared about me—”
“For some reason, you have it in your head that I hold some kind of affection for you, Whitney. I don’t. You have no sway over me. You hold no cards, and now, after this stunt, you’re fucked. I’m gonna make sure you’re never able to hurt my kids again.”
Her face screwed up with hate, the real Whitney returning to the show as she shrieked, “So you’re just gonna let them arrest the mother of your children?”
“Fuck yes, I am.”
Then I disregarded her, turning to face the officer closest to me. “You get everything you need from the people here?”
“Just about, Drake.”
“All right. I’m goin’ to get my girls. I’ll give you five minutes. I don’t want her here when we come out.”
“You’ve got it.”
With a tilt of my chin, I moved away, my feet beating against the matted floor as I headed for my girls.
Danika
I waited until Macie was asleep before carefully shifting off her bed and tiptoeing to the door.
She’d clung to me from the moment we left the gym until she passed out, and I didn’t mind one damn bit. If she needed me at her side so she could make sure I was okay, I’d give her that. Hell, I’d give her absolutely anything.
By the end of dinner, some of that light that we’d missed for the past month had come back, that spark in my girl growing a bit stronger. But she still needed a woman to lean on, and I was honored to be that for her.
I pulled it partially closed and spun around, starting for the stairs, when Hardin’s door opened.
He stood there for a second, Roscoe by his side.
At some point, my dog had become more Hardin’s than mine, and I was totally okay with that.
He stared at the thin scratches on my cheek before lifting his gaze to mine.
Finally, he spoke in a craggy voice. “She’s gonna be all right? ”
“She’s gonna be fine, sweetie,” I assured him. “She’s here, she’s safe, and she’s surrounded by people who love her. We’ll get her through this.”
His throat worked on a swallow before he nodded his head. I took a few steps in his direction, lifting up on my toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Get some sleep, honey. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
“All right.” I began to turn away when he called my name. “Dani? Just so you know, I think you’re awesome.” Oh God, I was going to cry for sure. “Macie does too. That’s why I know she’ll be good. ’Cause you’re here.”
I cleared my throat, only speaking when I was sure I wouldn’t burst into tears. “You know I love you and your sister both, right? Very much.”
His grin looked so much like his dad’s just then it was uncanny. “Yeah. I know. We’re super lovable.”
I rolled my eyes and gave him a playful shove. “Goodnight, Hardin.”
“Night, Dani. And just so you know, we love you too.”
On that declaration, he closed his door, leaving me shell-shocked. It took a few seconds for that to wash through me, warming me up from the inside out, and once it did, I was able to move, going down the stairs to Leo’s room.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows braced on his knees when I walked in. “Well?” he asked, his frantic eyes hitting mine as I closed the door behind me. “She’s okay?”
“She’ll be fine. It’ll take a bit, but we’ll get her there.”
He grabbed my hips just as soon as I was close enough, spreading his legs and pulling me in to stand between them. “She open up to you?”
She had, and it wasn’t fun recounting everything she’d told me, but he needed to know. As it turned out, Hardin had been shielding his sister from their mom’s drama, and unfortunately, once he was gone, that shield was gone too.
Where Hardin had gotten mad at his dad because of all the things Whitney fed him, Macie got upset and confused.
She knew she loved her dad and she knew she cared about me, so she didn’t know how to act when her mom talked ugly about us.
Something she did on a more-than-regular basis when she wasn’t bad mouthing us to her friends on the phone—all of which she said in earshot of Macie.
I’d had to tell him about the conversation Macie and I had in my car earlier that night, and how scared and embarrassed she’d been over her first period; something no girl should ever have to feel about something so natural.
After I finished telling Leo everything I’d learned, he dropped his forehead to my chest and let out a deep breath.
I placed my hands on his shoulders, pressing him back so he’d look up at me. “I talked her through everything,” I assured him. “She knows I’m here for her no matter what.” I smiled, pressing my fingers into his muscles. “She even asked me when our next baking lesson was.”
The relief was written all over his face. “She’s gonna be okay.”
“Yeah, honey.”
“Because of you.”
My heart flipped. “And because of you.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Leo moved, whipping me around and tossing me onto the bed.
Some of his weight came down on me, pinning me in place as he reached up to brush my hair from my face.
“There’s somethin’ I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, but I was afraid you’d think it was too soon. ”
My heart began beating double time. “Oh?”
“Yeah. If you’re not ready, I’ll understand, but I want you to think about putting your place on the market and moving in with us.”
“Done,” I said so fast his chin jerked back.
“Just like that? You didn’t even think about it, sweetness.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close enough that he was all I could see. “There’s nothing to think about. I love you. I love your kids. Your bed is softer than mine. You let me sleep in your tees. And I like your house better. So, done.”
He smiled down at me. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“God,” he whispered, lowering his head to rub his nose against mine. “I love you, Danika. More than you could ever imagine.”
“Oh, I think I have some idea.”
With that, he kissed me. Then he did other, even better things.