Chapter 13
Callie
Early this morning,Dylan dropped the kids off at my house. His eyes looked swollen and red, his hair a wildmess.
“Are you okay?” I asked, taking Ben from his arms and letting Addison shove her doll stroller inside. The damn thing was still broken and made the most annoying sound as soon as it hit my hardwoodfloors.
“Yeah.” Dylan nodded his head and looked away, wincing. “Callie, lastnight—”
“Stop.”Crap, I didn’t want to hear it. “Nothing is happening, stop feeling guilty. Nothing happened.Okay?”
He nodded again and shifted on his feet. Behind me, Addison put on the television as I taught her, and SpongeBob's laughter filled thehouse.
"Today's supposed to be Sheri's first day inrehab."
His ears turned bright red as he spoke, and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. I just wanted to throw my arms around him. I hated that he felt guilty and worried about someone who wasn't worth his time. But it was his wife. I kept repeating the mantra in my head.For better or worse, in sickness and in health. I would just be a quick fuck. A release. But more so, he would see me as his infidelity, and all I’d amount to was a mistake. And for the first time since Craig, I cared about someone. I didn’t want to be someone’s regret, especially not Dylan’s. I’d want more after, and he wouldn’t be able to give it to me. And I’d never be able to see the kidsagain.
I stayed up most of last night, thinking about it. One night with Dylan Sanborn would be pretty hot—but when the dust settled and his wife was clean, I'd be thrown away. Unneeded, unwanted, and nothing more than a dirty, shameful secret. I may sometimes think of myself as that easy, but I didn’t want the kids ever to see me that way. I never want to hurt them. So, right now the only thing to do was focus on helping Dylan with the kids while he saved hiswife.
Maybe Sheri and I could even one day befriends.
It was the most mature adult thing I think I’ve done in years. I even texted Ryan about it, feeling proud ofmyself.
His response:Tits up, Pop-Tart, you’ll find a freak just right for you soon enough.Vince from narcotics was asking aboutyou.
Ugh. Narcotics guys werecrazy.
I’d probably give him a calllater.
I took a deep breath and gave Dylan an encouraging smile. "I'm glad she's getting help. That's the first step, and soon this will be all over. It'll be goodagain.
His brows pulled in, and he gave a sharp laugh. "Good. Again." He said the words individually, as if they didn’t belong together. Oh boy, he was acting like it had never been good to beginwith.
Stop thinking and troubling yourself with it, Callie. It's his bed, and he's got to sleep in it. There's no room for you in thereanywhere.
I clapped my hands together to snap us out of whatever the hell was going on between us in the doorway. He nodded and handed me the keys to his house. “I had an extra set. In case you needstuff.”
I pinched my lips together and nodded like a fool. That was a trusting thing to do, just give me the keys to his house. My cheeks heated, and I immediately turned away from him so he wouldn’tsee.
“Oh, and tomorrow, my uh…mother-in-law asked if she could spend the day with thekids.”
I froze where I stood—happy I wasn't facing him so he couldn't see the blood completely drain from my face. See how quickly you're not needed. Because they're not your children, and they don't need you. He doesn't need you. My stomach clenched hard. This was all wrong. My thoughts scrambled around; maybe I misheard him? Plastering what I hoped was a bright smile on my face, I turned full around to face him head-on.
"Your mother-in-law?"
"Yeah. She wants to see them. And Sheri will be somewhere safe; no one has to worry about her." He licked his lips like the words tasted funny onthem.
"That's great," I said, maybe a tad too brightly. Whatever. I didn't want to deal with this. Pins and needles were dancing across my chest, I was confused and hurt, and there was no reason why I shouldbe.
Fucking hell, that asshole Ryan Cage wasright.
“And I have an appointment on my lunch break to visit Little HandsDaycare.”
Oh, fuck you,life.
I took a deep breath and smiled brighter. “That is justterrific.”
"Yeah, I can't keep bothering you every day. You need to get back to your life, and I need to get back tomine."
