Page 76 of Dandelions and Smoke

Unable to catch my breath, my delay is long enough for her to make herself clear.

“If you don’t want to be that woman, then you’ll get out of his life because right now, as far as I’m concerned, you’re the only thing standing between him and his son.”

“He has a lawyer,” I say, my mind racing as I look for a flaw in her perfectly calculated plan to come between Chief and me. “You can’t keep him from his son even if you wanted to.”

She grabs her purse from off the floor beside her, standing as she speaks.

“You’re right. I won’t be able to keep them apart, but with lawyers and court hearings, well.” She smirks, pausing for dramatic effect to emphasize the meaning behind her next words. “These things can take time. How long do you think it would take for Scout to forget all about his father? To see him as nothing more than a stranger? How long do you think it will take for him to resent you?”

She throws my words back in my face, only this time she changes the narrative.

Struggling to breathe, I’m dizzy, as if someone has stolen all of the oxygen from the room and is pressing down on my lungs.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she sneers. “Hope you didn’t have any special plans.”

“Why would you do this?” I choke out, swallowing around the knot of pain tightening in my throat as my eyes burn.

For a second, her smug facade slips, revealing something akin to pain, before snapping back into place.

“Why should he be the one who gets to be happy?” she asks flatly, devoid of emotion, before walking away, leaving me sitting alone at the front of the cafe surrounded by reminders of love as my heart implodes.

SIXTEEN

RORY

My brain doesn’t have a volume knob for doubt. It only has an on-off switch, and right now, the emotional brakes are failing completely. I can’t be the reason why Chief doesn’t have a relationship with his son. And this isn’t just about him. For everything I would have given to have a father in my own life, I can’t take this away from Scout. I can’t fix the hand that I was dealt, but I can make sure that I’m not the reason another child sits up wondering why they weren’t enough to be loved.

I’m trembling as my phone vibrates. Pulling it from my pocket, I wipe away the tears that have fallen and stare at the picture of Chief and me that lights up my screen. Tonight was supposed to be our night, the one where he finally tells me he loves me even though I already know it.

Taking a deep breath, I push down every raw emotion that threatens to shatter me, every fear that I’ve had from the beginning that I’m the reason this will all burn down, and replace it with a shell of myself. Sliding on a mask, I smile though no one is around to see, and pick up the phone.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says affectionately, reminding me of everything I have to lose. “I’m so sorry to do this to you, but something’s come up. It’s unbelievable, but I’m finally going to get to see Scout.”

The emotion in his voice helps mask the trembling I can’t hide.

“I’m so happy for you,” I rasp, feeling like someone’s stomped on my heart.

He continues telling me how nervous and excited he is, adding that he’ll make it up to me, but I barely hear him. The second Tris walks through the doors, I grab my things and make it look like I’m too busy on the phone to say much of a goodbye before running out the door and heading home.

One look from her or Ainsley, and they’ll know something is wrong. There’s no way they’ll let me hurt like this without trying to do something about it or convince me that there has to be a better way. My phone call with Chief doesn’t end until an incoming call from Lucas flashes on my screen.

“I have to go,” I say, cutting him off. “Lucas is calling.”

“No problem. I’ll call you later?” he asks, and for a second I stare blankly at the road ahead.

“Yeah,” I mutter. “I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t understand that I’m not apologizing for hanging up, but for so much more. I don’t know what my plan is yet, only that I need one, but whatever happens next, I know it’s going to hurt us both. He won’t understand, but I’m doing this for him—for him and Scout.

“Hey Lucas, what’s up?” I say, forcing an air of cheeriness.

“Rory?” It’s one word, but his tone sounds all wrong, and instantly my heart sinks, imagining the worst.

“What happened?” I park my car and run into the house, not getting any further than the kitchen table as Lucas talks faster than I thought possible.

I collapse into the chair as he tells me how there was an accident at the rink. Lettie fell on the ice, and being the overprotective and good husband he is, he didn’t want to take any chances and rushed her to the hospital. As it turns out, Lettie has been in preterm labor, though the doctors don’t think that the fall caused it, but exacerbated it.

“I keep telling her she does too much, and now it’s been medically confirmed,” he explains in a huff, trying to sound calm, but I know him better than that. “She’s on bed rest until the little guy arrives.”