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That did it! What little patience she’d held onto was instantly replaced by anger and resentment. “I don’t want to hear any of this, Blake. You had plenty of chances to come home, way back when we both wanted and needed you, but we don’t; not anymore—”
He stood and walked over to her and wrapped one big hand around her waist. “Just relax, Dani, and remember how good it was between us.”
“I remember, all right. I remember that I was never enough woman for you—wasn’t that how you phrased it?—that you never slept at home, that you didn’t want Cody, that you tried to get me to sell my land, when my mother was ill, to pay your damned gambling debts! If you think for one minute that you can con me into believing that you’ve changed, you’ve got another thing coming!”
She stepped away from him and though he reached for her, the ice in her eyes and proud lift of her chin convinced him that she meant every word she said.
“I’m only putting up with you because I think Cody has the right to know his father!”
An excited scream came from outside and Cody ran into the house carrying a brand new .22. “Hey, Mom, look. Dad bought me a gun!”
“What!” she said, horrified.
“It’s just a little .22,” Blake said.
The anger she’d felt earlier was nothing in comparison with the rage that consumed her now. “You can’t keep a .22,” she said, shaking as she looked first to Cody and then past her son to Blake. “What’s the matter with you?” she demanded. “You can’t give a nine-year-old boy a rifle!”
“It’s not a rifle; just a .22. I had one when I was his age.” Cody’s grin fell and to his embarrassment, tears started to form in his eyes. Hastily he swiped them away. “Come on, Mom, lots of kids have ’em.”
“And you’re not ‘lots of kids.’ You know how I feel about guns. They’re a big responsibility.”
“He can handle it.” Blake said.
“How would you know? You’ve been gone most of his life! How can you tell after just an hour that he can handle a .22 for God’s sake!”
“Dani—”
But she couldn’t think straight. All she knew was that Blake, whether intentional or not, was ruining her relationship with her son. “I think you’d better leave, Blake. It’s late.”
“Mom, no!” Cody wailed, looking frantically from one parent to the other. “It’s barely eight o’clock. Dad, please, stay—” Eyes red-rimmed, Cody stared at his mother, silently pleading with her to change her mind.
Dani felt like dying on the spot, but though her insides were shaking, she ignored the desperation in Cody’s eyes and said softly, “And when you go, take this damned thing with you.” She took the gun from Cody and shoved it into Blake’s hands.
“You can’t—” Cody said, tears now streaming down his face.
“Maybe when you’re older,” she said, touching her son’s shoulder. He recoiled as if she’d bitten him.
Blake’s face turned granite hard. “Maybe I judged you too quickly, Dani,” he said furiously. “Looks like you’re not such a perfect mother after all.”
“Just leave, Blake,” she said through clenched teeth. “Before we say something we’ll both regret and our son can’t possibly be able to understand.”
“I think you’ve already taken care of that!” he replied, his dark eyes blazing as he took the gun, offered a few words of comfort to his boy and walked out into the night. Cody stood at the screen door, crying and sobbing bitterly.
“Cody, I’m sorry that—”
“No, you’re not!” the boy said, turning and screaming at her. “You’re glad he’s gone! You chased him away! Again! You didn’t want him here, didn’t think he’d come back and now that he did, you sent him away!” Sniffing and wiping his hand under his nose, Cody glared at his mother. “I hate you!” he said angrily. “I wish I lived with Dad!” He stomped up the stairs and slammed his door so hard that the windowpanes rattled.
“Oh, dear God,” Dani whispered, supporting herself by holding onto the railing of the stairs. Cody’s shot had hit its mark and Dani felt her heart crumble into a thousand pieces. The one thing in the world she’d hoped to avoid, she’d managed to do. Inadvertently she’d pushed Cody away from her. Walking up the stairs she stopped at Cody’s room and quietly tapped on his door.
“Go ’way.”
“I think we need to talk.”
“No!”
She cracked open the door. Cody was lying on the bed in the semidarkness. His back was turned to her. “Son—”
“Leave me alone!”
