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“As soon as I have Jake, we’ll get divorced. I just need… my son.”
I nodded, my chin rubbing against the top of her head, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. That was the plan, and I wasn’t going to argue it.No matter how much I wanted her to need me… just a little bit.
“It’s okay if you need me, angel,” I rasped, unwilling to let Stan twist her definition of need any further. “It’s not needing someone when they give you no choice; it’s a prison. You didn’t need him because you were helpless; you needed him because he gave you no alternative.”
I slid my hand to cup her cheek, tipping her face to mine. The next words out of my mouth weren’t for me, they were for her. I’d watched her face as Stan spewed his accusations—watched self-doubt shadow her face and fracture her breaths. And now, I was determined to wipe it all away.
“I want you to need me, Kenzie,” I promised. “I’m your husband until I’m not, do you understand?”
And even then… I’d never not be here for this woman when she needed me.
Her eyes fluttered, and she said softly, “Yeah.”
“You did this all by yourself,” I rasped, my thumb stroking small circles on her skin. “You survived an overdose, got out of an emotionally abusive relationship, tackled recovery with your own support, and you were prepared to sacrifice everything to get custody of Jake.” I let out a rough breath. “I only had to meet Stan once to know your relationship was never about you needing him, but him needing to control you.”
Her body softened in my arms, and so help me, all I wanted was for her to need me. Because she wanted to, not because she had to.
“Zeke…” Her eyes lingered over my face, something about her expression seeming like she had something to tell me.
“What is it?” I murmured.
My jaw tightened. There was something…
She held her breath, swallowed, and then released her exhale as her gaze fell. “Can he do anything… to stop me from seeing Jake?”
My shoulders slumped.That was it.She was worried he’d make good on his thinly veiled threats.
“I won’t let him do anything, I promise.”
Was he going to try and stop Kenzie from seeing Jake now? Stop their calls? Their visits? It wouldn’t matter when she got custody, but until then… it would kill her, especially with the vitriol he’d spewed before leaving. I swore if he talked about her like that to Jake, I’d make sure those were the last words he spoke. Whatever he tried to do, he wasn’t going to get away with it; I wouldn’t let him.
“Let’s go home.”
Her chin bobbed slowly.
I kept my arm around her and walked us back to the car.
“What did Jake say?” I asked once we were back on the road.
He’d been smiling when he came over, so I hoped that was a good sign; I hoped that at least she didn’t have to worry about that.
“He was confused at first,” she said. “I guess Stan has been telling him more and more that I was going to come home soon—that we’d be a family again.”
Fucker.
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth.” She swallowed. “Not all of it, but the parts of it that an eight-year-old can handle. I told him we would always be a family, but that I wasn’t coming back home—back to Stan’s house. That I wasn’t happy with his dad.”
She swiped her hand over her cheek and then let out a soft laugh. “And he knew.He’s so… smart.” Her eyes glistened. “Smart with feelings, I mean. Jake said I look happy now. That my smile was never this big when I was home.”
My heart thumped harder in my chest. “He’s pretty perceptive.”
“Yeah.” Her breath faltered. “He asked if he would get to come stay with us, and I said I hoped so. And then he said that maybe he could teach you how to swim since you’re bad at soccer, too.”
I laughed. “Perfect.”
Her head tilted to me. “Thank you.”
