Page 21 of Hearts of Wealth

Timothy

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I SAT IN THE GARDEN, staring at the fountain lost in thought. Things were strained between me and Catherine. I wanted to explain the situation to her, but she wasn’t interested in hearing any of my explanations. She just wanted to make it clear I could never try to tell her what to do again. It wasn’t like I was trying to boss her around. I was trying to protect her. I knew Henry was a piece of shit. He clearly had set his sights on Catherine. Henry took what he wanted. He didn’t ask.

Catherine had not slept over since the incident at Henry’s house. I knew she was still pissed. We talked and texted, but I hadn’t seen her. I missed her. I missed holding her. I’d called her earlier, but her phone went straight to voicemail. I had no idea how to proceed. If I pushed too hard, she was going to go in the other direction. But if I didn’t stay front and center in her life, she might forget about me.

While falling into a dark rabbit hole, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I hoped it might be Catherine. I glanced at the caller ID and was surprised to see Regina’s name flashing on the screen. I groaned, dreading the idea of talking to her. Rather, it would be her screaming and yelling at me for one reason or another. But it could be about Paisley. I hesitated for a moment before answering, my heart pounding in my chest as I brought the phone to my ear.

“Regina?” I answered, guarded and prepared for an onslaught of insults.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. “Timothy, I’ve made a decision,” she announced, her tone clipped and to the point.

I frowned, furrowing my brow in confusion, unsure of what she could possibly be referring to. “What decision?” I asked with a sigh. She was probably debating how she was going to fuck me over again.

“I’ve decided to let Paisley come and live with you,” she declared, her voice firm.

I felt as if the ground had been pulled out from beneath me, my mind reeling with disbelief. I jumped to my feet. “What?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I was almost afraid she was going to say she was just kidding or fat chance.

“Your little girlfriend convinced me of it,” she replied curtly, her tone dripping with bitterness.

I stood in stunned silence for a moment, trying to process what she was saying. Paisley was coming home. My daughter was coming home. “I’m sorry, what?” I asked again.

“I’ll be putting Paisley on a plane as soon as I can,” she said. “That child is too much. I blame you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you’re the one that put the idea in her head she could live there,” she hissed. “She hates me because she thinks you’re some big hero. You’ve turned her against me.”

“That was never my intention,” I said. “I’m only trying to do right by her.”

“You and your little whore,” she hissed. “You two think you’re so much better than I am at parenting. Rich coming from two people that have never actually had children. I can’t wait to watch the two of you fall on your face.”

I wasn’t going to get into a war with her. If she was serious about sending Paisley, I would keep my mouth shut. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll buy the ticket. Is she in Italy or Germany?”

“I’ve already bought the ticket. I’ll send you the flight information. And you tell Betty-the-builder to leave me the hell alone. When she’s begging me to take that girl back, I’m going to laugh my ass off. You guys wanted her so bad; you deal with her bullshit. I’m done.”

The line went dead. I couldn’t believe what she had just said. Was she serious? She sounded serious. And what was she going on about with the Catherine situation? When did Catherine get dragged into things? I walked back into the house, still reeling from the phone call. I hoped like hell Regina wasn’t just fucking with me. She could be cruel, and I wouldn’t put it past her to play games with me.

I poured myself a drink and thought about what the future would look like. If I did get Paisley, my retirement was a definite and not a maybe. I had to be home. I couldn’t leave a teenage girl alone. She’d get up to no good. I would have to get her enrolled in school and do the school shopping thing.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar sound. Catherine’s truck. I put my drink down and walked to the door. She hopped out of her truck and walked toward me. “Hey.” I smiled.

“Hi.”

“I didn’t know you were coming by,” I said. “I called you earlier.”

“I know,” she said with a serious expression on her face. “We need to talk.”

Normally, those words would strike fear into any man that was feeling a little out of sorts in his relationship. But for me, it was actually good news. Before I told her I knew she’d talked with Regina, I wanted her to tell me her version.

“Come in,” I said. “Are you hungry? Can I get you a drink?”

“A drink would be nice,” she said with exhaustion in her voice.

I nodded, beckoning her inside. She followed me into the kitchen. I could feel the dread coming off her. She looked like someone who had been fighting battles, and it made my heart ache.

“I did something,” she said.