Page 91 of Bombshell

I’d planned to wait until Ellie was inside and then confront my sister-in-law, but something inside me breaks when Ginny yanks her out of the seat and begins dragging her toward the door. I step into her path, arms crossed.

“Drop her arm,” I say quietly.

“Auntie Dair!” Ellie squeaks, trying to run toward me.

Ginny’s grip tightens and Ellie yelps. I take a step closer, and she finally lets her go. Still glaring at Ginny, I bend down and Ellie throws her arms around me. I ignore the horrified look on Ginny’s face and soak up as much of the hug as possible.

“I missed you. It’s been two days!” She strains against my arms, so she can look me in the eye. “Are you really not coming home?”

I wrap her back in a hug. “I live somewhere else now.”

“With Mr. Ford?” she asks.

“No.” I shake my head. “Not right now.”

“But you love him, right?” Ellie presses. “Mommy told Felix that you were blinded by love and that’s why you left. Is that why you’re wearing sunglasses?”

I can’t quite hold back a tell-tale sniffle, so I take them off. “No. I see just fine.”

“Promise?” she holds out her pinky finger.

I hook mine around hers. “I promise.”

“But if you aren’t blinded by love, you can come home,” she says.

She’s turning into quite the little lawyer.

“Ellie, you’re late,” Ginny reminds her in a strained voice.

“I have to go to dance class.” She sticks her tongue out like she’s being punished. “Will you wait?”

I glance at Ginny, who pauses mid-text to wait for my answer. “Not tonight,” I say, “but I’m glad I got to see you.”

“I miss you!” Ellie buries her face against my shoulder. “They took all your stuff out of your room. I looked and looked and there’s nothing and Felix says it’s okay because I got mammaries.”

“Memories,” I correct gently. Reaching to my neck, I unclasp the silver clover. “Do you know what this is?” I place it around her neck.

Ellie takes the charm in her fingertips and studies it with awe, before shaking her head.

“It’s a good luck charm,” I tell her, leaning back on my heels. “A four leaf clover. When you wear it, I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“Promise?” This time she doesn’t hold out her pinkie. She just stares into my eyes. I see Sterling there, looking back at me. Hopeful and a little angry and trusting and innocent. He doesn’t see himself that way. He never has but it’s so much clearer to see those parts of him in the eyes of his daughter.

“I promise.” And I mean it with every fiber of my being. Standing up, I give her a quick kiss on the forehead and shoo her inside. She studies the charm the whole way.

“I should call the police,” Ginny says when the door closes behind her.

“And tell them what?” I ask. “What lie will you spin this time?”

“You know that we were given guardianship over her. You can’t just show up and put ideas in her head and—”

“Guardianship,” I cut her off. “I’m still her mother in every way. You two are not her parents.”

“Are you threatening me? Maybe I should call the police. I should have when you broke your promise and he came to the house. How could you do that? How could you tell him after what he’s done to this family? He’s only going to hurt you and her.”

“He would never do that.”

“Then why didn’t you put his name on the birth certificate?” she demands.