Page 18 of The Challenge

“So where is she right now?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you.” I threw my hands up.

She gave me a look. “That’s insane, Evan.”

“You don’t need to convince me of that.”

“Does Effie talk about it?”

“Very rarely, and I don’t force her. She’s smart, though. She knows she got a raw deal. But she still loves her mother very much, craves her attention when she comes back to visit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “It’s fucking heartbreaking, but somehow, Effie never holds it against her—or at least she keeps her feelings inside. Effie clearly wants her mom back, but she’s resigned herself to accepting whatever she can get, even if that’s just a handful of visits a year.”

“So Katerina does visit…”

“Yes, for a week here, a week there. In some ways, that makes it harder. Because after she leaves, Effie is more cognizant of the fact that she’s gone.”

“That makes sense.”

“Actually, none of it makes sense.” I looked away. “It’s just the way it is.”

“When did Katerina start to check out?”

“Things were never perfect, but she really withdrew when Effie was about four. From the beginning, everything with us had happened fast. When she found out she was pregnant, it was a shock to both of us. We tried to make it work, though. Or at least, I tried. And I would’ve kept trying. I was willing to do anything for my daughter. Katerina didn’t see things that way. She had dreams away from Dry River that she thought she needed to fulfill. Said she couldn’t be the type of mother Effie deserved long term if she didn’t live her life untethered for a while.” I sucked in a breath. “As you can see, Effie and I are doing just fine. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“You wouldn’t have her mother permanently back in her life?”

“Well, of course I would want that. I meant if I could go back in time, I would do everything the same…just to have Effie.”

She smiled and murmured, “Yeah. She makes you a better person.”

Chloe seemed almost sad for me, though. And the last thing I needed was pity, especially from her. It was bad enough that I felt it everywhere I went in this town. Everyone knew about the single dad raising a little girl who had been abandoned by her mother. The looks I got. They were the same as the one Chloe was giving me right now, and I needed an out.

“Heading to shower,” I announced before leaving her standing there.

Once in the bathroom, I tried to decompress under the water. But all I could think about were Chloe’s eyes, Chloe’s face, Chloe’s lips. How damn beautiful she was. Fuck, I was hard up. Things hadn’t been going well with my girlfriend, Naomi, and me. It had been a while, to say the least. And that was mostly my own doing. But I stopped myself from relieving the tension here because I knew my imagination would go straight to Chloe. That would only make this situation worse.

After I showered, somehow managing to avert an orgasm, I stared at myself in the mirror, hesitant to venture back out there in case Chloe was still in the kitchen. I took my sweet time in the bathroom and then went to check on my daughter and tuck her in.

Effie closed the book she’d been reading. “Hey, Daddy.”

“You all ready for bed?” I sat at the edge of her mattress.

“Do you think Chloe’s going to be able to braid my hair in the morning?”

“I don’t know, baby.” I ruffled her hair. I wished Chloe hadn’t made that promise.

“Can you ask her?”

“No. She’s in her room for the night. I’ll try to figure out how to do it myself, okay?”

“You can’t. You already tried once, remember?”

“I didn’t try that hard. It was one time, and I hadn’t gotten any formal lessons. I’ll look up instructions before bed. I’m sure I can find a tutorial online.”

I’d stay up all damn night if I had to.

My daughter frowned. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

I chuckled. “Have faith in your dad, okay?”