Page 65 of Miss Manage

Chapter Thirty-Seven

GABRIEL

On the drive to my ex’s house, memories of Samantha as a toddler flooded in. Her little feet pounding toward me when I walked through the door after work. Her hand tucked into mine wherever we went. Her serious face as she asked me to check for monsters under her bed.

It seemed overnight those days had disappeared, and suddenly she was a young woman. Taking a deep breath and hoping I didn’t completely screw this up, I went up to the door.

Samantha greeted me there with her overnight bag and backpack. “Hi.”

“Hi. Ready?”

“Yeah. Let me set the house alarm. Hold on.”

Anger flared all over again. My ex had left Samantha alone for the night, even though there were plenty of other options.

But I refused to make this about my ex, or me, or anything other than my daughter.

We didn’t speak again until she was buckled in the car.

“Here.” I handed over the small silver key I’d had made, silently kicking myself for not having done so sooner. “This is a key to the condo. You can come over whenever you want. I’ll get that rideshare set up for minors, too, so if you ever want to come over, for any reason, you always have the option.”

Her eyes widened. “But what if it’s not your night?”

“Samantha, I’ll take any night I can get with you, any time. This isn’t about stirring things up with your mom. It’s about you knowing you always have somewhere to go. My home will always be your home.”

She turned the key over in her hand, thoughtful. “But…what if you have company?”

I smiled faintly. “The only company I’d ever have would be the kind happy to see you.” My mind drifted to Charlotte, and I cleared my throat. It wouldn’t do for Samantha to walk in on anything. “But dropping me a text first wouldn’t hurt.”

She giggled, but the sound cut short when her phone dinged. “Mom saw me on the Ring camera leaving.”

“You need to text her and let her know you’re with me, so she doesn’t worry.”

Her fingers flew across the screen before she sighed. “She’s pissed. Says it’s not your night. Wants you to call her.”

Of course she did. “I’ll handle it later.”

“Are you going to fight with her?”

In the past? Absolutely. But I’d grown weary of handing Tanya power by overreacting. “No. But I’ll be honest, I don’t like you staying overnight alone. Not because I don’t trust you, but because you shouldn’t have to. You have too many people who love you to ever have to be alone.”

She picked at the seam of her sweatshirt. “In Mom’s defense, she and Rick are having problems, and they needed a night away. The kids are with his parents, but I didn’t want to be a third wheel at their house ’cause I barely know them.”

Her voice was matter of fact, but my blood boiled. A thirteen-year-old shouldn’t be privy to the details of her mother’s marriage. But the zen gods were with me tonight. “I don’t blame you, but next time please, please call me. You’re getting to the age where you should have some agency in these decisions.”

“Yeah. I think that’s why Mom is hanging on tighter these days.”

We were quiet for another few minutes, before she asked, “Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Don’t bring up…you know. The thing we’re both not talking about to Mom as the reason I called. Or that I called Charlotte about it. Mom will get weird about it all.”

“Of course. I’ll simply say I realized you were home alone and insisted on picking you up. That work?”

She nodded, relief softening her face. “Yeah. Thanks.”

We rode the rest of the way in silence. Once parked in the garage, I slung her duffle over my shoulder and led her up the elevator and into the condo.