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He smiled but there was no joy in it. “Just because you’re fucking Emma doesn’t mean you get to tell me what the fuck to do.”
“Watch your mouth.” I took a step forward and he took two back, damn near fell off the porch. “Just because you have a fucked-up view of women doesn’t mean I’m here because I’m fucking Emma.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Are you here because you’re fucking your brother?” I arched a brow and smiled as he contemplated swinging on me. “This isn’t your house, is it? No. It belongs to your brother and his wife.”
“She doesn’t own shit!”
I shrugged. “Neither do you, so get the fuck out of here before I break your ribs and shove them up your ass.”
“This isn’t over asshole.”
I shrugged because it didn’t matter to me either way. “I don’t even know what the fuck this is, but I know if I see you around here making trouble for Emma or Ashlyn then you’re gonna fucking regret it.” I closed the door and watched him through the window to make sure he left.
He did but not before snapping a photo of my license plate and flipping the bird towards the house as if he knew I was watching him.
Mark Edwards had no way of knowing but he had just become my latest obsession. Before the sun rose on a new day, I would know everything there was to know about Alex’s brother.
“You swear a lot,” Ashlyn said, her face bright with a smile when I opened the door to the living room.
“You caught any of that little chat me and your uncle had?” I asked.
She nodded, then said, “He’s not really my uncle. He’s Daddy Alex’s brother.”
I think I’ll get a pass on what I said to that fucker, but going forward I gotta try and get a handle on my vocabulary when Ashlyn is near, “Sometimes you need to season a sentiment just to let someone know you really mean what you say.”
“Can I season my words?”
I laughed. “Probably not until you’re at least eighteen, but you should definitely ask your mom.”
“She’s gonna say no.”
“But you’ll be a grownup a lot longer than you’re a kid so you can season your words all you like when you grow up.” There was something else she said though, that I wondered about. “Why do you call Alex, Daddy Alex and not just Daddy?”
“He’s not my real daddy and he doesn’t want to be.” The sadness in her voice only made me angrier at that man, to have a precious little girl like Ashlyn and make her feel unwanted was just shitty and pathetic.
“Well it’s his loss because I think you’re pretty fu- freakin’ great.”
Laughter sparkled in her eyes before it erupted from her lips.
“I didn’t say it though.”
At those words, she laughed even harder.
Chapter 13
Emma
Iglanced up at the peeling gray paint on the walls and the flickering fluorescent lights, then down to the scratched metal table in front of me. Instead of finally being able to relax with my daughter without the fear of Alex coming home to destroy our peace, I was doing other things. Instead of planning for our future, figuring out how I would make money to support us and enjoying being hopeful for once since meeting Dr. Edwards, I was here. At the police station.
For the third time in as many days.
Slate had given me a pep talk before I left, a stern reminder that it wasn’t my job to open up to them. “They aren’t your fucking therapist, don’t give them more than they ask. Period.” His lips had pulled into a lopsided grin that was truly irresistible.
He was such an odd man, both gruff and gentle at the same time. When it seemed as if he was angry, he was really just showing me how serious the situation was. My own smile had matched his own. I’d given him a hug, gotten embarrassed, and quickly found Ash to kiss her goodbye, telling them both that I’d be back soon.
I hoped that was correct, and today wouldn’t be the day I’d find myself in cuffs.
