AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t wait for her answer. She’d made it clear she wanted to be by herself. Forcing her to do anything with me would probably just push her away, and that was the last thing I wanted. It had been too fucking long since I’d had my child close; I wouldn’t screw this up.
Grabbing my phone from my bedroom, I headed into the kitchen to make a coffee and call Tenille.
She answered the call straight away “Aiden, I can’t talk for long. I need to keep the phone free in case Charlie calls. She took off yesterday and I have no idea where she is.” The panic and worry in her voice bled through the phone.
“Tee, she’s here.”
Silence.
And then a sob broke from her. “Oh, God. Thank God.” She exhaled her relief, and I imagined her doubling over as she heard this news, in the same way she had years ago whenever she was relieved about something. Not that I knew if she did that anymore, but my memories were clear as day where Tee was concerned, and they flashed through my mind whenever we spoke or when I caught a glimpse of her. I wondered how our relationship would pan out now and whether she’d allow me close enough to learn who she had become. It wasn’t my intent to force that, but I would welcome it.
“She showed up just now. Said something about a fight you’d had and that she needed a place to stay while she calmed down.”
“Yeah, we had a fight about you. She said she didn’t want anything to do with you, and I told her she should give you a chance and get to know you before making that decision. And now look where she is. I’ll come get her.” Tenille sounded drained, exhausted. She probably was. Between a husband with a gambling addiction, thousands of dollars disappearing from her bank account, a husband she thought dead turning back up, and a daughter going missing, I guessed she was running on emotional fumes right about now.
Opening the cupboard above where I stood, I grabbed the bottle of whisky from it and splashed some into my coffee. Fuck knew I was gonna need it today. As I stored it back in the cupboard, I said, “How about she stays here for a couple of days while she blows off steam, and then you come and get her?”
Silence again. And then—“I’m not sure about that, Aiden. She doesn’t know you. And you have no experience dealing with teens. I should probably just come today and take her home. By the time I get there, she’ll have calmed down enough to talk to me.”
“Tee, stay put. I’ve dealt with worse than teens in my life. I can handle Charlie. You need a break.”
She barked out a laugh. “And what do you propose I do with myself while taking a break?”
I frowned as I downed some coffee and waited for the whisky to hit my bloodstream. “I don’t know. Whatever the fuck mothers do when they get some alone time.”
“You really do have a lot to learn about parenting,” she muttered. “Fine, I’ll call Charlie and tell her I’ll be there in a few days. She’s all yours. Don’t kill each other, okay?”
Jesus, how fucking bad was this going to be? “I’ll keep you updated.”
We ended the call, and I reached for the bottle of whisky again. Filling my cup, I took a long gulp, closing my eyes briefly as the alcohol began to take the edge off.
How hard could this be? I could put up with a bit of teenage attitude for a few days. Anything to keep Charlie with me.
Three hours passed without a word from Charlie. Not a sound. Nothing. Those three hours felt like three fucking days to me. I fought an inner battle between leaving her alone and going in there to make her come out and spend time with me. In the end, I left her alone and went outside to the gym I’d built in my garage.
I’d just finished with the weights when she wandered into the garage. Wiping the sweat from my face, I watched her silently, waiting for her to speak.
Her gaze travelled around the gym before coming back to me. “You’ve got a good setup here. Would you mind if I did a workout later?”
“You box?”
“Yeah.”
“How about you do that workout now?”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “With you?”
I nodded.
She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, I prefer to work out on my own.”
“Fair enough. I’ll be finished in about half an hour. The gym’s all yours then.”
“Thanks.” With that, she turned and left.
As I watched her go, I wondered if she’d inherited my preference to be alone most of the time. She certainly seemed to have inherited my desire to avoid needless conversation. And I wasn’t sure yet, but perhaps my moodiness as well.
My phone rang, and I quickly swiped it off the bench. I’d been expecting a call from King all morning. Nitro and I had paid some visits around town last night looking for anyone who knew anything about Jacko’s murder. Sydney wasn’t talking, though, and we’d almost called it a night when we finally found someone who knew somet
