He stood with Amy outside, waiting by the passenger side, studying her.
“I’m sorry, Reggie, but we have nowhere else to go.”
He looked at her then at Rachel, who gave him a tentative smile. His heart literally hurt for the little girl. And he knew he couldn’t not help. Or at least, not hear Amy out.
He sighed. “Drop me at my car and follow me back to my place.”
“Thank you.”
Once back in his car, he stared at his phone. He had to call Maggie and tell her about Amy. But he didn’t want to. The situation haddangerwritten all over it. Sucking it up, he dialed and pulled away toward his house.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Maggie. How are you? Ready for Emily to come back?”
She laughed. “Oh yeah. I stocked up on macaroni and yogurt bars. Can you believe Emily took a bunch with her to her dad’s and actually likes them now?”
That made him smile. “I told you those were good.” He paused. “Hey, ah, something came up. Why don’t you and Emily hang today? Have some mother-daughter bonding time. I’ll pop over tomorrow afternoon, and we can make a day of it.” Which reminded him. He had to see his father and sisters for brunch since he’d skipped last week.
“Is everything okay?”
“I hope so.” He sighed. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. And wish me luck at family brunch.”
She laughed. “Good luck. And Reggie, call me if you need me, okay?”
“I will.” He hung up and continued to the house, wondering why he felt so guilty for not coming clean.It’s not like I’m cheating or anything.
Once at home, he parked and let himself inside.
Amy and Rachel soon followed, and it was as if they’d never left.
For all of a split second.
The hurt, the feelings of betrayal, and his broken heart rushed back. “Rachel, honey, can you play outside? Or would you rather watch TV while I talk to your mom?”
She smiled, so sweet. Still innocent, no matter what her mother had done. “Can I watch TV?”
“Sure.” He kissed the top of her head and handed her the remote. “Go for it. Amy? Let’s talk outside.”
She sat with him at the patio table and looked around. “The house still looks great. I love the flowers.” She nodded to the rose bushes. “The maple looks amazing.”
He studied her, wishing he didn’t have such conflicting feelings. “Can you please just answer me? Why are you here?”
She ran a hand through her hair, the sunlight glinting off the auburn highlights. That hadn’t changed, that Amy could still captivate sheerly on looks. But he no longer found them mesmerizing. “Devon and I were doing well. He’s changed, I know you won’t believe it, but it’s true. He was working over in Renton with a construction crew, but then they cut back when they lost a few bids. So he looked around and found a course he can take in Tacoma. He learned that becoming an electrician would provide steady income. But it’s too expensive for him to commute. We’d have to live there. I’d lose my job.”
“The job you no longer have.”
She sighed. “I had it until we moved to Tacoma, but he couldn’t start right away. I was looking for work. Our savings were stretching thin.”
“Savings? That’s new.”
She glared. “Look, we were trying. I wanted to do right for Rachel, to show her that everyone deserves a second chance.”
He couldn’t argue with that. And though at the time he’d wanted to, he knew he couldn’t argue that a child should be able to see her father. He might consider Devon scum, but the guy had never physically harmed his family. And he’d admitted his mistakes and asked for a second chance. While still screwing the neighbor, but Amy had bought into his apologies.
“In Tacoma, we started fresh. But the lack of money caused problems. I got a job cleaning office buildings, but we couldn’t afford the rent. Devon moved in with a roommate. I had to talk to my sister.” She grimaced.
Reggie shook his head. “That roommate wouldn’t happen to be an attractive woman, would it?”
