Page 111 of The Challenge

“Chloe didn’t need the extra anxiety of Katerina coming to town, though.”

“Neither did you.”

“That’s for damn sure.” I took a long swig.

Effie popped into the room again. “Can I stay at Grandma’s with Mommy tonight?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Yay!” She ran back into the kitchen.

That worked out, actually, since I wanted to be alone with Chloe before she left tomorrow.

Drew and I stayed in the living room talking until Maura, Katerina, and Effie entered the room.

Katerina caressed Effie’s hair. “Effie, honey, I need to talk to your dad. I’ll come back in half an hour and get you. Then we’ll go over to Grandma’s.”

Effie looked between us. “What do you have to talk about?”

Fuck if I know.

Katerina smiled. “Just adult stuff.”

“Okay.” Effie shrugged.

Maura flashed me a look. I knew she wasn’t a fan of Katerina, but I appreciated her being cordial for Effie’s sake. She put her hands on Effie’s shoulders. “Come on, honey. Help me clean up and then we can finish that puzzle we started before you have to leave.”

Katerina looked over at me. “Can we take a walk?”

I nodded, following her out of the house, my temperament a bit cold. This felt like déjà vu. I’d never forget Katerina coming to my apartment back in the day and asking me to take a walk before she told me she was pregnant with Effie.

“How have you been?” she asked as we started around Drew’s block.

“We’ve been fine.” I chose my words intentionally. There was no me without Effie. It would always be we.

“Effie told me you have a new friend.”

“Chloe is more than a friend,” I admitted.

“I figured that, considering how much Effie was talking about her. She’s living with you guys?”

“Just temporarily. She was in town taking care of her mom, who just died.”

“Effie mentioned that, too. I’m sorry to hear it.”

“Chloe is actually going back to Chicago tomorrow. That’s where she lives. But I’m hoping that’s just temporary.”

I wasn’t sure how much Effie had told her mother. I’d never told Katerina about my history with Chloe, so she’d probably assumed I’d only recently met my new friend, unless Effie had mentioned otherwise.

Katerina slowed her pace. “I fear I may have come back just in time if you were getting close to someone.”

Her words gave me pause. I slowed my pace. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching the past few months.” She inhaled sharply. “I don’t want to be away from my daughter anymore.”

I turned to her. “It’s taken you four years to come to that conclusion?”

“It’s taken me that long to get whatever that was out of my system.”