best.
I rounded on my ex. “You can’t keep doing this shit, Lisa. I had plans tonight.”
“So, you have to change them.” She shrugged. That was easy for her to say. Whenever she had
something to do, she knew I wouldn’t say no to taking Willow for the night.
Which was exactly why we were in this position now. Maybe I had been too quick to pick up the
slack when Lisa decided she wanted to go out and be a normal twenty-something. Before I took on a
second job, I had caved every single time, not wanting another guilt trip about how getting her
knocked up had ruined her life. I hadn’t exactly been looking to have a kid either, but it bothered me
how she clung to her resentment over a night we were both just drunk enough to forget the condom.
Yes, our lives had changed, but I would never consider mine ruined because of Willow.
But what about me? Who helped me out when I needed someone?
“It’s not that simple,” I argued. Dammit, I did not want to tell her that I had to work tonight. She
would start asking questions I didn’t want to answer. “Can’t you ask your sister to watch her?”
“You don’t want to spend time with your daughter?” Lisa crossed her arms tightly over her chest
and pursed her lips. “Corey, I can’t just pick up the phone and beg Amber to watch her all the time.
Willow’s your responsibility, not hers.”
And she’s your responsibility, too.I didn’t bother saying the words aloud. It was an old fight that
wouldn’t get us anywhere, and curious ears were far too close.
“That’s not what I said, and you damn well know it.” I dug my fingers into the back of my neck,
trying to release some of the tension. “If I could, I’d cancel my plans but this time I can’t. You can’t
drop by unannounced and expect me to always be available. Can’t you reschedule your meeting?”
“I’ve already pushed it off three times,” she told me.
I puffed out my cheeks and held my breath. I really wanted to point out it wasn’t my fault she
apparently sucked at planning. Both of us had a schedule for the entire year so we knew when Willow
would be with us. Unexpected changes were always a possibility, but we’d sat down months ago so
we could avoid situations like this one. Too bad she seemed to forget all that when her “I want it
now” moods kicked in.
When she stuck her bottom lip out, I sighed, knowing she was gearing up for the guilt trip.
“Please, Corey, I really need you to watch her. Even just for a few hours would help. I want to go
back to school and I need to meet with the adviser to figure out the best way to do things. She
