"No, she's not," I agreed. "Fuck!"
"So, I'm going to tell them to lay low in the morning. Get some sleep. I'll be up with you, and then we'll all figure out how to handle this together. I'm sure Violet will know what to say."
"I fucking hope so," I told him. "Cy, I can't lose her."
"We know," he promised. "We also love you enough to understand if you call it quits for a bit. Doesn't mean we won't be waiting for you to come back."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I breathed. "I don't want anyone else, Cy. Just you three."
"We all feel the same," he promised. "We'll make it through this somehow, but Faith comes first."
Which made it sound like he'd already talked to Violet. That, more than anything else, was enough to let me find sleep after he left. Unfortunately, my dreams were filled with nightmares of being alone for the rest of my life. I loved my daughter, and I would do anything for her, but that wasn't the same as being happy. I loved these people too much to ever try replacing them. That meant the only option was to not ever leave.
I'd already tried that once. I'd also learned my lesson. This, right here, was where I belonged.
Chapter Sixty
The next morning, Violet and Ash made themselves scarce until Faith left for school. Afterwards, we all sat down and talked, but there was really nothing to say. They both apologized, yet there was nothing to be sorry for. I couldn't blame either one of them. I also couldn't tell Faith what we were really doing. Yeah, I called Cessily just to make sure. The heavy sigh I got made me feel like a child again, and the disappointment was palpable.
"You may have to call it quits with them," she warned.
"Not happening," I said.
She sighed again. "Luke, you can get back together after the court date. You won't lose your job..." She paused. "Wait. What if you tell her you're going to fix up the chaperone cottage and you two will move in there?"
"Won't breaking up look bad?" I asked.
She grunted, the sound verging on a groan. "Yeah, but I don't know what else to do."
"I'm going to tell her we're working it out," I decided. "I'll make it clear that Cy's offered us the cottage if it doesn't, but I think this is my chance to get her used to the idea."
"Don't..." she warned.
"Slowly," I promised. "Little things, like making it clear that loving someone doesn't mean owning their body. That happiness isn't limited. That men and women can be friends, not just romantic. She's got a gay friend she's hanging out with, and I can use that to make the point."
"Becareful," she told me. "Very careful, Luke. Because if Faith lets the wrong thing slip, you will lose her until she's eighteen."
"I know," I promised. "Trust me, Cess,I know."
For a long moment, silence hung on the line. Then, "I want to say I'll come up, but I have a feeling that adding more people to that mess is going to be a big mistake."
"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm not looking forward to this afternoon, and I'm trying very hard not to lie to her, but I knew this was going to happen. I'd been hoping it was after I had primary custody, but I'll figure something out. I always do."
"If Darnell and I can help, let us know," Cess told me.
"Just tell me things between the two of you are better than this?" I begged.
She laughed. "There's no 'thing' between us, Luke. I've been working remotely on my other cases. I do have some, you know. Darnell has a business to run. But I have your case pretty much wrapped up, and we're just waiting to hear the charges against you have been dismissed."
"Anything?" I asked.
"Cobalt said he got his ass kissed, the police captain was quaking in his boots, and today he's going to have the investigation board - or whatever it's called - give them a call to find out what's going on. I'm expecting it'll be gone by the end of the week."
"And if it's not?" I asked. "When do we call Blaze?"
"Friday evening," she said, sounding like she was making that decision on the spot. "It'll give him a week to work his magic. The only problem is that while it will work, it might also bite you in the ass another way. That's the problem with using a political fixer, Luke. They don't make it go away. They make people wish it would, and sometimes those people get angry. If they do, they can lash out, and then it escalates instead of evaporates."
"Gotcha." Yet that wasn't at all what I wanted to hear. "And to think, last week was amazing."
