“You can talk to me. You know that, right?”
“I’m all changed,” Aiden said as he ran into the kitchen. “Can we go outside now, Mr. Ace?”
I stepped away from Savannah.
“Did you finish your homework?” Savannah asked.
His shoulders slumped. “I only have a little bit left. We can—”
“Uh-uh,” Savannah said with a shake of her head.
“We were going to go play catch,” Aiden protested
“You can go catch that homework,” she said. “Upstairs. Finish it now and then bring it down to me.”
Aiden’s face dropped but he didn’t say anything as he started out of the kitchen with his head lowered. I felt bad for the kid, but homework took priority.
“And you better not turn on that tablet either,” Savannah yelled after him.
I let out a smirk at her parenting skills. She was the type of mother I always knew she would be.
When I turned back to face her, she started to wipe down the already spotless countertop.
I stopped her hand with mine again. “Talk to me.”
She snatched her hand away and folded her arms across her chest. “I can’t talk to you.”
“Why the hell not?”
She didn’t flinch at the base in my voice. “Because there’s a little thing called HIPAA. And if I violate it, I could get fired and worse, sued.” She turned away from me. “And that bitch, Tricia, is the type to bring about a lawsuit,” she mumbled.
I stiffened. “Who did you say?”
She went motionless as well, likely realizing she’d just said that last comment aloud.
“Tricia,” I said for her.
I stepped back and gritted my teeth. It didn’t take a fucking genius to figure this shit out.
“She went to your job.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. “She pretended to be a patient?” I thought I’d squashed that situation with Tricia weeks ago. She’d left me alone ever since she tried to confront me in the parking lot at the base.
“She told you I was the father of her baby,” I surmised aloud.
Savannah’s nostrils flared, but this time it wasn’t due to her lying. It was anger. “It’s none of my business what went on between the two of you.”
“How isn’t it your business? You’re my wife,” I said louder than I’d intended.
“Who has been gone for sixteen years,” she said back. “Of course, you moved on. You would want a family with…” She trailed off.
I shook my head. “No.” Savannah read this all wrong, and I had to do my best to keep my anger from making me say something to make all of this worse.
“That’s not my baby,” I told her.
“How do you know?”
“It’s been months since she and I were together.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not yours.” She waved her hand in the air. “She’s more than halfway through her pregnancy, from the looks of it.”
