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Lexi sighs. “I wasted my time defending his rights as a father. What are you going to do, a DNA test?”
I’d thought about that on the way over. “No. I’m done with Gabriel. The day Ivy asks, I’ll give her Gabriel’s name and address. I don’t want to force him to acknowledge her.”
“I think you should, Vanessa,” Lexi says. “Ivy is his responsibility too.”
I think about the process of going to court and shake my head. “It is but I just don’t have it in me to go after him. I can afford to take care of my daughter and I will. I don’t need his money.”
I can see from Lexi’s face that she doesn’t understand.
“You had to be there to understand why I’m letting it go. I can’t remember being as humiliated as I was today.”
“Did he honestly believe that you would lie to him about something like that?” Lexi says.
“Probably. I’m guessing that I’m not the first woman who has gotten pregnant when with him. He’s used to denying responsibility.”
“That is sickening and more the reason to go to court. He’ll do this to another woman, Vanessa.”
I’m not going to take on the role of fighting for women’s rights with Gabriel. Lexi and I are in very different places in life. She’s already settled while I still have a long way to go before I’m financially secure.
I have to choose my battles carefully, lest I use up all my reserves. My concentration now is on my daughter and my business.
What about Logan? A voice pipes up in my head.
I hope that something will come out of what Logan and I have but I’m not going to build my future around that.
Chapter 30
Logan
It’s my duty to clean up the kitchen and leave it neat for the next shift. My mind is not on what I’m doing though, or even at work. All I can think about is Vanessa with that bastard who used her and dumped her. He’s obviously a charming asshole, used to using sweet words to get into women’s panties. And that is what is worrying me if I’m to be honest. I’m frightened that he’ll charm his way back into Vanessa’s heart. She loved him once. She could love him again.
Plus, I hear there’s a special bond between two people who have a baby together. I hate feeling this way with nothing to do about it.
“You look miles away,” Ace says, as he enters the fire station kitchen.
I look down at the plate I’ve been rinsing for the last three minutes. “I’m a little preoccupied.”
“I’m guessing it’s got something to do with Vanessa meeting with Gabriel, right?” he says coming to stand by my side.
“Yeah, how did you know?” I ask him.
He grins. “Lexi.”
“Do they talk about everything?”
“Pretty much,” Ace says with a shrug. “You get used to it.” He slaps my shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about. From what I hear, Vanessa’s heart belongs to someone else. A firefighter that I happen to know.”
Hearing him say that chases away the nervousness I’m feeling. He asks about Emma and her grandparents. Talking works wonders and when I leave the station, I don’t feel so tightly wound.
Until I drive past The Alms and I have to grip the steering wheel tight to keep going.
I wish I could stop and take Vanessa home with me. I don’t trust Gabriel not to hurt her again. I know that it’s crazy to think that she would even contemplate getting back together with him. I know Vanessa and she cannot abide by lies. The fact that he lied to her by omission about something as serious as being married means there is nothing he can tell her to make her go back to him.
Still, I’m restless when I get home. I change into a pair of shorts and go out to the back to water the flowers. That keeps me occupied for half an hour. Vanessa is still not back yet. I go back into the house and sit in the living room with a firefighting manual I’ve been meaning to read for the last few weeks.
I read but nothing makes sense. Then the sound I’ve been waiting for breaks the silence. I jump to my feet and go to the window. Yep. Vanessa is home. Instead of rushing out as I want to do, I keep my cool and wait until she comes to me.
She lifts Ivy from her car seat but instead of coming to the house as I was hoping she would, she goes to her cottage. Frustration wells up in me. I pace the living room and keep waiting to hear the front or back door open, but nothing happens.
Finally, I can’t take the waiting anymore. I leave my house and march to the cottage. Usually, I would just enter without knocking but this time, I knock and wait.
