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“Maybe we can go to Mike’s after my meeting,” I offer.
Cale’s eyes light up, but Cole nudges him, and the smile fades as quickly as it arrived.
They’re treating me this way on purpose. As much as it should annoy me, I’m glad they haven’t completely given up on Madison. As much as what she did hurts me, I’d like to think she’d never intentionally hurt the kids.
Each one of them walks up and takes one of Dad’s hands, and he looks happier than I’ve ever seen him when he throws me a smile over his shoulder. He might’ve been a tough-as-nails father, but he’s one marshmallow of a papaw, and this version of him is the one the boys deserve.
I struggle with everyone’s luggage because it includes the boys’ booster seats. Dad, of course, doesn’t offer me a helping hand, and I know it’s because he has somehow turned the blame for all of this on me. I won’t say a thing differently. I’ve never been able to change his opinion on anything, so there’s no sense in trying to now.
It’s why when we arrive at the underground parking at the attorney’s office and we run into Emily that I don’t chastise him when he takes a step back from her as she tries to hug him like they’ve always been friends.
My parents never liked Emily, and maybe that’s because they could see things earlier on than I could.
Cory is nowhere around, but I’ll be damned if I ask about him. What I will do is refuse to let her take the kids alone. I don’t care what my attorney has to say about it.
“Hi, Cole. I missed you so much.”
Cale blinks up at his mother, but he doesn’t correct her.
Although I can’t change anything because I’d never change my boys, I hate that they ended up with her as a mother.
“Come on,” Cole says from the other side of my dad, tugging him toward the elevator.
I nod at Dad when he looks back at me with questions in his eyes.
“Eighth floor,” I tell him. “I’ll be right up.”
Emily waits until the elevator door closes with the trio of males in it before she turns her eyes back in my direction.
I recognize the look immediately. The sadness means she’s either out of money or her credit cards are maxed out.
“I miss them,” she says, her voice soft and motherly.
It would probably fool a lot of people, but the woman can’t even tell her twins apart, which isn’t a very hard thing to do.
“I’m glad Madison is out of their lives. I can’t believe she betrayed you the way she did and sold that story to the press.”
I keep my eyes locked on the closed elevator door, wishing it would open back up without me having to push the recall button.
Every minute I spend with this woman drains my energy.
“I miss you,” she says.
I snap my eyes at her.
“Don’t start this shit with me,” Imutter.
“I miss my family. Now that you’re done running around, I think it’s time for you to come home.”
“Come home?” I growl. “We don’t have a home.”
“I can go back to Tex—”
“The fuck you will,” I snap.
Just the thought of her stepping foot in that house makes my skin crawl.
“I want you to take the settlement so I can move on with—”
