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“I haven’t really gotten the chance to tell you. You had to know we couldn’t stay long with her condition.”
I clamp my teeth together before I call bullsh
it. She’s had opportunities to tell me. She just chose not to. I twist my neck to the side to release some of the tension building.
“I’ll book a flight for Wednesday,” I bite out. “I have a couple of things I need to take care of before I can leave.”
I smoothly pull into the ice cream shop’s parking lot and find a parking space. When I put my hand on the gear shift between us to put the car into park, Ellie places her small one on top of mine. I tense and look at her. Her expression is serious, her silver eyes reflecting an emotion I haven’t seen on her face before.
“I know I’ve said it already,” she says quietly, “but thank you. You didn’t have to agree to what I asked of you.”
Her words send a spark of animosity through me. Just because I’m only now finding out I had a daughter doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do anything for her. Had she told me from the beginning, she would know this.
Instead of being an asshole and reminding her of the reason I’m giving one of my kidneys to Maisy, I give her a short nod. When I jam the gear shift into park, her hand falls away. Turning off the car, I get out without looking at her. I’m afraid if I do, she’ll see the loathing I feel for her, and I’m trying my best to keep the tension as low as I can with Maisy nearby.
Curious stares follow us when we walk into the ice cream shop. I look down when I feel a presence beside me at the counter. Maisy puts her hands on the glass protecting the shit ton of big ice cream containers. A tiny line forms between her eyes as she looks longingly at the selection.
“I miss ice cream,” she says, her voice barely detectable.
“You can’t have ice cream?” I ask.
“She has to limit her dairy intake,” Declan answers for her.
“That’s why you asked for sherbet,” I state, and she nods. “I thought it was strange you asked for sherbet instead of ice cream. Sherbet’s good, but ice cream is so much better.”
She nods so vigorously that it brings a smile to my face.
“How about this? Once you’re all better, I’ll bring you back here and you can get a scoop of every flavor.”
“Really?” she asks eagerly.
Unable to help myself, I reach out and push away a strand of hair that’s fallen in her face. “If that’s what you want.” Belatedly, I add. “As long as your mom says it’s okay.”
She immediately turns to Ellie. “Can I, Mom?”
She smiles indulgently down at her. “Let’s get you better first. Then we’ll see about satisfying your sweet tooth.” At her dejected look, she adds, “You’ll get brain freeze if you eat that much ice cream.” When that still doesn’t work, she concedes. “Okay. But I won’t hear any complaints about a tummy ache later.”
“I won’t complain. I promise.” Her eyes shine with happiness.
Ellie laughs and smooths her hand over the back of Maisy’s hair. “We’ll see.”
Sweets aren’t high up on my food list, but like I told Maisy a moment ago, I prefer ice cream over sherbet. Even so, I order it instead of the ice cream. I notice that Ellie and Declan do as well. It would be shitty to order something Maisy misses so much and dangle it in front of her face.
Once we receive our order, we take a seat in a booth by the window. Ellie sits and Declan slides in beside her, leaving me to sit beside Maisy. When I notice Eleanor and Barb staring at the backs of Ellie and Declan’s heads unwelcomingly, I shoot them a glare. I’ve got no right to be pissed, but I am. Not too long ago I was bitching at both Trouble and JW for allowing unknown women into our midst. One thing that carried over from Sweet Haven when we had the name changed to Malus was our need for privacy.
This is different though. Maisy is my flesh and blood. Ellie might not be on board with the way we give justice, but she’ll have no choice if she wants to be part of Maisy’s life, because I’m damn sure not giving her up. She’ll eventually see reason.
On the other hand, Declan might be trouble. I have no idea what his plans are once Ellie and Maisy move here. It’s something I need to look into.
“You’ve got a nice town here, Judge, despite the odd looks we keep getting,” Declan says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I glance around and notice more people looking our way. As soon as they catch my heated scowl, they quickly avert their eyes.
“Just ignore them. We don’t get many out-of-towners here, so you’re a rare commodity.” I look down at Maisy’s paper bowl and ask, “Can I see your bowl for a minute?”
She slides it toward me. I ignore Ellie’s questioning look as I scoop half of my mango sherbet into Maisy’s bowl and half of her strawberry into mine. I push it back in front of her.
“Since they didn’t have strawberry mango, we made our own.”
