Page 73 of Full Throttle

“Stop filling his head with lies. I never walked away, and I’m not walking away this time. I want him in my life. You trying to sabotage it only makes you look bad. And your boyfriend. Tell him to stop raising his voice to Josh. He hates it.”

She laughed. “You are so typical. You have no right to tell me how to raise my son. I⁠—”

“Our son. Josh is our son, so it gives me the right.”

“You think it’s easy? Raising him?” She stepped closer. “What are your plans, Dominic? Play dad every weekend, holidays, and leave me with the rest? Make me the scapegoat for the weeks and responsible for everything else? Getting him to school, meeting with teachers, dressing and feeding him? And you get to be the fun one, having sleepovers and eating out?”

“I want him more than weekends.”

She scoffed. “And how is that going to work? You live an hour away. You gonna drive him here to school every day? Pick him up? Take him to appointments? He isn’t going to be living half time with you and half time with me and going to two schools, having two different lives. Have you thought about that?”

I had to admit, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I studied her, noting she looked tired. Not tired as in she didn’t sleep well the night before, but weary. I took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

“Are you okay, Roxanne?”

My question surprised her, but she snapped back. “I’m fine.”

“Surely we can come to a compromise where Josh gets the best of both of us, Roxanne. If we put him first and work together⁠—”

She rolled her eyes and cut me off. “I’m not interested in playing friends with you. And I’m not moving to help you. You want him more? You change your life and prove how important he is.”

Then she walked in and slammed the door.

Leaving me confused, worried, and upset.

With one huge question on my mind.

How was I going to do this?

CHERRY

Dom was quiet when he got back from dropping off Josh. I’d expected him to be talkative and want to discuss how the weekend went. Instead, he stared out the window, paced the floor, and didn’t say much except Josh was home safely.

“Roxanne looked really tired,” he mused. “I texted Josh and told him to be nice to her.”

“That was kind.”

He shrugged. “Not sure why I did that.”

“Because you’re a good man.”

He didn’t reply, and he had been silent ever since.

“Dom,” I began, waiting until he looked away from the window. “What is it?”

He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “What am I going to do, Cherry?”

“About?”

“Going forward. I want Josh more. But how will that work? Me here, him there. He has a life, school. He can’t live here part time and there part time.”

“No, he can’t.” I paused. “But, Dom, you’re jumping the gun a little, aren’t you? You’ve only had him one weekend. Wait and see what happens.”

Dom tapped his foot on the floor, the movement uneven and jerky. “I get the feeling he’s lonely at times.”

“He is, I think. It sounds as if his mom is a bit overbearing.”

He snorted. “That’s an understatement.”