I snort. “You must be really desperate.”
“Please.” She walks on shaky legs. Preacher comes out of nowhere and offers her a bottle of water. “I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t desperate.”
“What is it?” I ask only for my wife's sake.
“Levar took the kids.”
“Who the hell is Levar?” I rub the back of my neck, already annoyed by this conversation.
“Sylvie’s husband. He took the kids and won’t bring them back. My daughter is beside herself because—”
“Where is your husband?”
“He’s on his annual fishing trip with his brother. I can’t reach them. He’s off the grid the entire week. Please.” She puts down the water, walks around the desk, and gets to me.
“He’s their father. Doesn’t he have a right to see them?”
“He was supposed to bring them back last night, but didn’t. He told her that he’s keeping them and fighting her for full custody.”
“That’s not my business.”
“He doesn’t care about the children. He’s doing this to punish my daughter for leaving him. You know that Tim has asthma, and Levar doesn’t know anything about his breathing treatments or how to use the nebulizer. He says he doesn’t believe in asthma and that the boy is just weak.”
I sigh at that.Fucking idiot.
“The guy is a moron. Not much I can do about that.”
“My grandson is in danger. I heard the baby screaming in the background, and he treats Eva like dirt.” She takes both my hands. “You have to help us.”
I pull my hands away. “What do you want me to do?”
“Take the kids and bring them home, by any means.”
“The same kids that your daughter doesn’t want around my wife because she’s with me. Those kids?”
She makes a sobbing sound, but she doesn’t move away. “I never approved of that, and Sylvie lets—”
“Lady, I’m not interested in helping your daughter. She’s been nothing but horrible to Eden. Call the police since you believe in law and order so damn bad. I’m nothing but a goon, remember?”
The police won’t do anything, and she knows it. Levar is the children's father, and he has the right to them. Sylvie will have to work this out through the courts, and that will take time.
Serena raises both hands. “Okay. I know I’ve not been very welcoming to you, and I’m sorry about that. I see how much you love Eden. You didn’t leave the hospital, and you’ve taken excellent care of her when—”
“None of that stopped you from weeping at our wedding,” I throw back in her face.
She’ll never know that Eden cried about it a few days later. I found her sobbing one morning in the bathroom, and she confessed how hurt she was by her mother’s behavior at our wedding.
“I’m willing to accept you into our family.”
Scoffing, I shake my head, then chuckle at her arrogance. Preacher leans against the wall and watches the show.
“I don’t think you understand.” She blinks a few times. “I’m not interested in being welcomed into your family.”
“What?” she asks, confused.
“I think you think that I want acceptance.”
She blinks again.
