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I waited, knowing that something had to have happened to upset him. It was impossible to guess what that might be, because Chad was utterly unpredictable.

“You know he’s been sleeping on the couch at a friend’s house, because he can’t stay with Grandma and Grandpa. This weekend I learned his friend kicked him out, and he’s been crashing on the couch at the tractor dealership. He showers at Grandpa’s place, but he says he can’t keep doing that or they might get in trouble. Today, when he was driving me home, he kept saying it would be so great when Carter got his own place, and he moved in here. I said it was too bad the apartment in the basement had never been finished, or he could have stayed there. Mom, I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. I was just making conversation, trying to be empathetic.”

A chill rolled over me. Chad was homeless? I felt bad for him, but I still didn’t want him living with me. The basement apartment had been an idea I had when I first bought the house, to add a separate suite and rent it out. We had built a bathroom and started on a bedroom, but never did more than rough in a kitchen, because I ran out of money. It was barely liveable, there was no outside entrance, and there was no furniture except a foldout couch. Even so, I could see Chad using this to try to insert himself back into my life.

“He invited himself to move in.”

Ethan nodded glumly. “It happened so fast. Before I knew what was happening, he was dragging me down to see it and telling me how awesome it would be to have all of us in the same house again. He’s gone to get his stuff from his office at the dealership. He’ll be back later tonight. I didn’t know how to tell him no. I’m sorry.”

No, no, no. This wasn’t happening. I didn’t have the heart to blame Ethan; he didn’t have the experience or maturity to deflect Chad’s manipulation. He loved his father too much and wanted to have a relationship with him. Now, with Chad homeless, how could I refuse to let him move in? Ethan would feel worse than he already did. I sank onto a stool next to Ethan. “This has to be temporary, kiddo. We’re not getting back together. You know that, right?”

The idea of Chad being back in my life made me ill. Oh God, and Carter. The past three days with him had only reinforced the fact that Chad had been all wrong for me, that I’d allowed him to break me down and devalue me. All the therapy I’d done had helped me move on, and now I was finally enjoying myself with a man who liked me for me. With Chad in the house, sneaking around to see Carter would be even more complicated. Ethan was gone all the time, busy with school, sports, and friends. Even when Brooke came back, she’d be at the hospital a lot. I’d had it all planned out, but Chad was one more wrinkle.

Ethan nodded vigorously. “I know that. I don’t want you to. You’re way happier now. I know he’s using us. But he’s still my dad.” Ethan’s shoulders slumped.

I loathed that Ethan had figured out his dad was using him. It wasn’t fair that Chad didn’t see how amazing both our kids were. I bent over and put my arm around Ethan’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “I’ll talk to your father, set some ground rules. He’s not staying long, and he’s not moving upstairs, even if Carter moves out. If he makes trouble, he has to go.”

Chad was already causing trouble, and I was a sucker for allowing him to manipulate us like this. It would be different if he had somewhere else to go, but no matter how I felt about him, I didn’t want him to be homeless. Still, there was no way I was going to let him destroy my hard-fought self-esteem again. If he caused trouble for Carter, or the kids, he was gone.

“Thanks, Mom. I tried to tell him it was a bad idea, but you know how he can be.”

Impossible? Unbearable? Narcissistic? Any of those terms described Chad to a T, but Ethan didn’t need to hear that from me. “I do. It’s not your fault. Your dad has a way of getting what he wants. Why don’t you go start on your homework while I cook?”

“I can help,” Ethan offered, sliding off his stool. “What are we having?”

I waved him off. “Dinner is easy, grilled chicken and salad. Go do your homework so you’re not up all night working on it.”

Ethan’s footsteps echoed through the house as he thundered upstairs to his room. I was pulling the chicken out to grill when Carter came back into the kitchen. “Everything okay?”

The grooves across his forehead and concern in his voice made me want to lean into his strength for support. Why did Chad have to come back, at exactly the moment my life was going right? I let out a long sigh, releasing the frustration that Ethan’s news had triggered.

“Not really,” I admitted. “Chad manipulated Ethan by complaining about having nowhere to stay. Which, as it turns out, is true. He’s currently homeless. Ethan told him I have an unfinished apartment in the basement, and Chad invited himself to move in.”

I thumped a cutting board down with more force than necessary and set a head of lettuce on it.

“Ethan feels bad, because he knows Chad stresses me out. I feel trapped because Chad has nowhere else to go. Ethan wants a relationship with his father, and Chad has actually been more involved lately. I don’t want to be the one to damage it. If I refuse, Chad will find a way to twist this to make it all my fault, and I don’t need those complications right now.” I slammed my knife into the head of lettuce in front of me, taking out my frustration on my helpless produce.

Carter’s soft hmm was sympathetic. He didn’t say anything else as he moved economically around me, helping with prep while giving me space to tell him as much or as little as I wanted.

I chopped furiously, angry that more than five years after our divorce, after moving an entire country away from him, Chad was still messing up my life. “I want to tell him to go to hell. I want to tell him to tuck his tail between his legs and go back to Houston, beg one of his friends to hire him, sponge off their goodwill. I suspect he doesn’t have any friends left to do that, but how is that my problem?”

I slapped the knife down and stared at Carter. “Why do I have to be the bigger person?”

I was whining, but dammit, this was exactly why I’d moved back home, to get away from Chad’s egocentric behaviour.

Carter wrapped his hands around my wrists and enveloped me in a hug. “Chad is an asshole, but he’s also had years of practice getting what he wants. It’s easy to understand how Ethan fell into his trap. It’s your house. No matter how much you don’t want to upset Ethan or damage his bond with his father, he won’t want to see you getting hurt either. I saw what Chad did to you before, how he minimized you. You’re a different person now than you were then. If Chad starts acting the way he used to, you have to be willing to kick him out.”

I nodded. It was validating to hear someone else see Chad for what I knew him to be.

“I know. I warned Ethan of that already, that this was only temporary. I will not let Chad control my life again.” I pressed my face against Carter’s chest, savouring his strength.

“Would it help if I moved out?”

My head jerked up, and a stabbing pain pierced my chest. “No.”

The visceral response my body had to his suggestion surprised me. I swallowed hard to regulate my voice. “Unless you want to leave, I’d like you to stay. Chad’s being here is going to mean we have to be more careful not to get found like this.”

I gestured to him holding me. “If he finds out, he’ll make both our lives hell. I like having you here, and if you move out, it means Chad is already changing the way I live my life.”