“She just admitted to it,” I admit before looking at the brothers and say, “Thank you, for doing this.”
“You don’t have to thank us, brother,” Ace says as he walks past me, “She’s fucking family and if it is the last thing we do, we will convince her.”
An hour later I watch as Cole swings in the yard, Ash sitting on the patio steps watching him with a hot chocolate in her hands.
“It’s another boy,” she says not looking my way, “I wanted to call him Tyson.”
I smile slightly, Dad’s middle name…
“I think my dad would love that,” I admit quietly before I ask, “Will you ever not hate me, pixie?”
She’s quiet for a moment before she confesses, “I don’t hate you, Tyler, I could never hate you. I’ve loved you since I was ten years old but you broke me, you broke us and I know I should have spoken to you. I know I should have confessed what I went through but I always knew you had a wandering eye and I always looked the other way believing you would look the other way until Virginia answered your phone.”
“I never watched them, pixie, Dirty has the video as proof,” I instantly defend myself and she shrugs, “That may be so but atthat point I was in pain, scared and I didn’t know what to think because of your actions and then you actually did hurt me.”
“I just need one chance. Ash, that is all I’m asking for.” I plead but she shakes her head and mutters, “I’ll never be able to trust you again, never be able to not picture you two together and for now, I will stay, for Cole. Until I can get him used to the idea of us moving out because our marriage is over and you really need to sign the divorce papers. This baby doesn’t change anything.”
Her hurt is talking right now. I know this, which is why I state, “I love you, Ashley and I will never let you go,” before I step down off the patio and go over to spend some time with my son who didn’t even want a birthday celebration because of me.
I won’t lose my family, I won’t lose Ash and it is time she understood that one way or another, whether it is tying her to our bed, I won’t let her leave me.
Chapter 18
Trigger
I groan as I slowly wake up knowing the bed next to me is empty, a bed mind you I had to fucking sneak into last night when she demanded I take the spare bedroom.
She made it perfectly clear she didn’t want me sleeping next to her despite the fact I’ve been gone for five fucking months. Despite the fact we made yet another baby together and have spent more time apart in the past two and a half years than in our entire relationship. My year fuck up doesn’t count because at least I still got to hold her at night even if I was riddled with guilt so the fact she thought I’d listen, ha…
I held her all fucking night long with my hand over her bump feeling our second boy move beneath my touch settling something deep inside me.
I turn my head and silently curse seeing she is in fact gone. The tingling sensation I always get when she’s around not currently present and I know she isn’t in the house.
I’d feel her if she was, I always fucking feel her.
“Dad!” Cole shouts, “Ginger tore the table cloth again!”
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter, “Damn Brit and her bright ideas…”
Guess I should be grateful Ash never went to veterinary school like she played around with when we were thirteen.
“Dad?!” Cole shouts again and I grumble as I get up, my mood plummeting knowing my wife is not here.
I walk into the kitchen twenty minutes later after having a piss and a shower to find Cole sitting on the floor. He sits crossed legged, his elbows on his knees, his chin leant against his linked fingers, staring at the fat ginger cat that’s looking at him back, his tail twitching.
What the fuck?
“Uh, bud, what are you doing?” I ask as I cross my arms over my chest taking in the scene with the torn table cloth sitting between them.
“Trying to psych him out to stop him from tearing up the furniture,” he admits quietly and I swear to fuck, even the cat rolled his eyes at him.
“Okay,” I sigh as I look around the kitchen and see everything from last night’s dinner where my wife did not even speak to me is cleared up and I ask, “Have you had breakfast, son?”
“Mhmm,” he murmurs, “Mama told me not to wake you because you’ve been riding and needed your rest,” my heart flickers at her worry as he looks at me and asks, “Hey Dad, when you ride for so long does it hurt, you know, down there?”
I look at him sharply, his words taking away me looking around the kitchen and the little shit has a gleam in his eyes.
Oh for fuck’s sake…
