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“I’ll find him,” she said, and she turned and headed up the stairway to the left.
It was my turn to roll my eyes, and I followed her up the narrow back stairs. “We should really let him sleep, Shell, he’s growing.”
She made a noise that sounded like “Pffft,” and continued, turning into the hallway on the second floor. She peeked into the two rooms she passed, and finally pushed open the door to the room where Daniel was sleeping. And then she pulled it shut again and nearly crashed into me.
“What the hell is going on here?” She asked, her eyes wide and angry.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you all sleeping in one room? Together?”
Oh shit. Addie’s bed was in my room. “Well, yeah, but not like you think.”
“With my son?”
“Our son.”
“No. Michael, I’ve put up with a lot, but this is just too much. He doesn’t need to witness you, doing whatever it is you’re doing here, in the room where he’s sleeping, for God’s sake.”
Anger and exhaustion combined in me—my usual reaction to Shelly’s over-the-top reactions to ordinary things. “That’s completely not what’s happening here.”
“Well, that’s what it looks like. And he’s twelve. What is he supposed to think?”
“We’re all in separate beds, Shell.” I rubbed a hand across the back of my neck, wishing I’d managed to drink about three more cups of coffee before being forced into this conversation.
She continued to glare at me.
“Can we talk about this downstairs?”
“With her? No thank you.” A flicker of jealousy flared in Shelly’s eyes, and I understood a little bit what this anger might be about.
“Shelly, there is nothing going on with me and Addison Tanner.”
“That wasn’t what it looked like when I walked in on you in the kitchen.”
“Which was rude, by the way. You need to knock.”
“This is a construction zone, not a home where you should be shacking up with your new girlfriend.”
“She’s not—”
“And I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to have my son living in a construction zone, either. None of this is good for him. You, living in sin, the possibility that he might fall through the floorboards at any moment. All the filth and grime.”
I shook my head. Shelly was just grasping at straws. She did this whenever she was unhappy with me. She was irate now, spewing words and waving her hands around.
“I’m going to sue for sole custody, Michael. You clearly aren’t responsible enough to be raising our son.”
Despite the declaration being baseless—it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it—it was still my worst fear. I’d done everything wrong in my life, and I was determined to do right by Daniel. But I wouldn’t be able to if Shelly took him from me. And worse, I knew he would be better off with me, or at least with shared custody. Shelly’s life was unstable and irregular. For the first time though, I was a tiny bit worried she might have a point. I was living in a construction zone with a woman who was not my wife. Maybe unstable and irregular looked better than dangerous and illicit.
“No, Shelly, I—“
“I don’t want to hear it. Give Daniel this paper. I’m going to talk to my lawyer.”
I sighed, but Shelly needed to feel like she had some power, so I defaulted to apology, which was what usually appeased her. “Please,” I said, genuine worry making my heart pound. Daniel was the only thing I hadn’t screwed up. I couldn’t lose him.
I followed Shelly back down the stairs, hoping she’d cool off.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer,” Shelly said, walking through the kitchen and shooting Addie a dagger-eyed look as she passed. Then she clattered out the back door and disappeared.
