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She pointed to the dog and looked away from him again.
"Why did you name him Diego?" Adrianna asked.
"‘Cause he's Frida's husband, of course," Bronwyn said looking at Cam with a smile for the first time since she came in.
"Bron…" Cam tried to get back to the subject quickly. Adrianna's eyes burned holes through the side of his head. He turned to find her glaring at him.
"She's not getting another dog," she turned to Bronwyn. "You're not getting another dog."
Cam put his hands in front of him. "I didn't know Chase was getting her one. We picked Frida out the other day, before you put a halt on presents, and she should be here tomorrow morning."
Adrianna came off the couch. "This is not happening!"
"But Mom, please, we can't just throw her away," Bron pleaded. "She's already part of our family.”
"We don't have space for two dogs. We barely have room for one!" Adrianna was getting more and more worked up by the second.
Cam began to shake his head, trying to stop what he knew would come out of his daughter's mouth next.
"But Daddy's getting us a big house with a humongous kitchen, and there's a huge yard and Frida and Diego can run happily. I helped him pick it out already and there is plenty of room for all of us and two painting areas, one for me and one for Daddy. And it's supposed to be a secret, but I promised Uncle Chase that he would get his own room. You see? It all works out, Mama," Bron exhaled after saying all of that in one breath.
Adrianna seemed stunned. She wasn't moving or saying anything. Her widened eyes stared straight at her daughter. She turned her gaze towards Cam. Her eyes now had a feral quality to them.
He opened his mouth, but she lifted a hand to stop him. "We're not going to talk about this now." Then she turned back to her daughter. "Tell us what happened today."
Nonplussed, Bronwyn went on to tell them how, as they were leaving the pet store, someone called out Luciana's name. They turned to see Marilyn Blake sauntering their way. "She was talking to Aunt Lux, but she kept looking at me. I introduced myself, but I don't think she liked that because she began yelling at Aunt Lux and Uncle Chase. She screamed about someone not getting the Blake money and she called my aunt and uncle traitors and said she would cut them off. Aunt Lux told her she doesn’t have any money and Uncle Chase told her to go home and have a drink."
Cam moved close her to her again and put his arms around his daughter to prevent himself from exploding. "I'm sorry you had to meet her. She's not important."
Bronwyn shook her head. "But, she's your mom, and I'm sorry if this makes you mad, but I don't like her. She's mean and she shoved Diego with her foot when he peed on her shoes. She kept screaming at me, asking if I knew those were Valentinos." She paused to look at Cam with big rounded eyes. "I didn't know."
"Bron, it's okay. I'm sure Mrs. Blake was probably having a terrible day," Adrianna said. She sat on the armrest of the chair next to her daughter. Bronwyn laid her head on Adrianna's lap. "You don't have to like Cam's mom, but you have to respect her. Do you understand?"
The little girl raised her head to look at her mom. "Yes, I have to be courteous and polite even if I don't feel like it because I'm a lady and I've been raised to know better."
"That's my girl," Adrianna said, then bent to kiss Bron's forehead before hugging her to her chest.
Cam watched the scene with a heavy heart. A week and a half ago, he’d thought there was nothing his parents could say or do that could hurt him anymore. Knowing Bronwyn had to face Marilyn’s disdain and her insinuations about Adrianna made his blood boil. It was worse than any of the things Walter had said or done to him. Cam was slowly learning that now there could be worse things than the ones already done to him.
He looked up and found Adrianna watching him. There was something in her eyes, an emotion, he couldn't describe. She hugged Bronwyn tighter to her. "I want you to call and see if the paternity test is ready."
She always knew what to say to make him go from boiling into an eruption.
