AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why didn’t you mention her in all this time?”
“I kind of kept her to myself because…” She released a heavy sigh. “Dad, you date people alotdifferent from her.”
“What does that mean?”
“You date women who have thatbeach bunnyvibe you seem to like. They giggle until I want to claw out my eardrums. They don’treadand theyneverlike kids.” She crossed her arms and sat back. “Walking stereotypes, all of them.”
Well, shit. “Mandy…”
“I get it and it’s cool. Those women take one look at you, see you’re cute and successful, and want you to be their boyfriend. They want a guy who looks good and makesthemlook good. They chase you and you let them catch you.” She shrugged. “Zoe isn’t like any of them. She’s not dumb and sheloveskids.”
“You’re right. She isn’t like anyone I’ve ever dated.” There was no denying the truth but it was hard to hear it from his little girl.
Looking through the passenger side window, she told him quietly, “I figured you’d keep dating women like my biological mother until you learned better.”
In almost every way, Nate considered himself a goodmanandfather. The message he’d unknowingly sent his daughter about women and relationships didn’t make him feel like either of those things. His sister had called him on his usual dating habits months before and he’d sworn off dating to get his act together.
Not a moment too soon.
“I’m sorry, Mandy. There won’t be any more women like your mother. You have my word.”
Her head turned and she gave him a smile. She looked so much like his little sister at the same age. Hair that held various shades of blonde, huge hazel eyes, and already tall for her age, Mandy was pretty and so damn smart. She shared some of her mother’s features, but he preferred to liken her to her Aunt Noel.
“We don’t need their drama, Dad. They’rehorrible.”
Nate couldn’t argue. They’d gotten plenty of drama with Jessica. Mandy’s biological mom was aggressive from the start. She left town countless times and always returned. Usually to lay low and recover from whatever trouble she got herself into.
While he was still in the Marines, he drove to Cedarton on his leaves to check on the business he started with his uncle’s help.
He met Jessica at a local bar. She quickly got him addicted to having crazy sex day and night. It wasn’t until she told him she was pregnant with his child that he discovered she’d been arrested multiple times in several states for various offenses.
Young and dick-dumb, he focused onchangingher. Older and wiser than the fool he once was, Nate knew it was impossible to change another human being.
It was a lesson that wasn’t learned easily.
On the day she told him she was pregnant, Jessica demanded a ring. He left the military he’d thought to make a career and gave her one. He didn’t love – or even particularlylike– her but he did what he thought was the right thing.
Three months after Mandy was born, Jessica disappeared. His mom and sister came as often as they could to help with the baby.
She was gone for six months and then attempted to come back. The day she reappeared, Jessica was strung out. She sobbed and begged him to let her come home. She talked about postpartum depression and refused to sign the divorce papers he had for her. It was a lot of bullshit but Nate tried to remain calm.
He wouldn’t let her live in the house but allowed supervised visits. Within weeks, she left town again without a word.
When she breezed into town for Mandy’s fifth birthday, Nate escorted her into his home office and presented her with divorce papers that he demanded she sign because it was happening with or without her consent. Multiple statements showing she’d only been in Mandy’s life for less than four months over five years gave him grounds for a divorce whether she liked it or not.
Her violent tantrum in response ruined their daughter’s party.
For months, she tried to get Nate to reconsider but he didn’t let her near Mandy. The judge granted Nate’s divorce as well as sole custody of their daughter. Her criminal record alone was enough to sway the courts in his favor but her abandonment and lack of support with Mandy sealed the deal.
Jessica lost her mind after the proceedings. She followed him across the courthouse property and threw a brick through his truck window while their little girl screamed.
There was nothing about his relationship with his ex-wife to be proud of but he didn’t regretone secondwith his daughter.
As they pulled into the library parking lot, he recalled each of the women he’d dated since his divorce. It was impossible to ignore the pattern of volatile and immature women in his past.
No fucking more.
Noel was right, it was well past time for him to grow up. To find a woman who made him want to be a better man, not someone he tried to turn into a better woman.
