Yes, he’d been ticked that she’d thought for even one second he had taken Jordan only for the money. When she’d mentioned his not trusting her, the thoughts he’d had when she first returned had bombarded his mind. He hadn’t trusted her then, had been petrified of her trying to take Jordan away from him.
He’d remained quiet because he was stubborn, and a tiny, sadistic part of him wanted her to know how it felt to be doubted. It didn’t take an advanced degree to figure out she’d been hurt by his lack of response. Immediately getting involved in their daughter’s lava drama, Chelsea had ignored him. Her tight smile and the near-constant view of her back was enough to let him know she was hurt.
Well, he was hurt, too. How could she have thought he’d only taken Jordan because of the money? Hadn’t his actions, and the obvious love he had for their daughter, shown her anything?
He got up, dressed, put some coffee on, then began to make breakfast. Jordan would most likely be awake soon. Automatically, he filled the kettle with water for tea, then remembered Chelsea wasn’t here. She’d made some excuse about needing to be at the cottage early today for a delivery. After putting Jordan to bed, she’d coldly told him she would stay at her place for the night. No kiss or “I love you” for him. He hadn’t made any move to kiss her either.
Guess they were both a little stubborn. Today, he’d fix that. No way he’d let her get away again. He wasn’t delusional enough to think that everything would always be roses. Still, after the last few months, he hadn’t expected any problems to crop up quite so fast.
The sound of little feet running down the stairs warned him Jordan was up.
“Hey, Daddy. I’m hungry.”
“Morning, peanut. Why don’t you let Bandit in? I’ll have your scrambled eggs ready in a minute.”
The child skipped to the back door and called to the dog, who trotted in and went straight to his water dish. Then, she sat next to the basket the kittens slept in and started petting them.
“Wash your hands,” he instructed when the food was almost ready. Jordan bolted into the bathroom, water splashed, and she ran back out, parking herself at the table.
“Where’s Mama?”
Digging into his eggs, he gave himself time to formulate his answer. “Remember she said she had to be at the cottage for some things today?”
“Oh, yeah. Can we go there?”
There was nothing he wanted more than to see her and talk or simply gather her into his arms and kiss the stuffing out of her. Would she get the message that he was sorry? Should he bring along some flowers?
“Not right away, peanut. We need to run some errands first. As soon as you’ve finished eating, head upstairs and get dressed.”
The grocery shopping couldn’t wait. They’d run out of dog food and the cupboards for human food were pretty bare, too. The other errands weren’t imperative, but he figured they’d give Chelsea a bit more time to do her stuff at the cottage, plus some time to cool off. His anger had dissipated easily enough overnight as he’d tossed and turned, unable to sleep without her by his side. Unfortunately, the deceit of the past still clung to them both, even with the truth of what her father had done. It wasn’t always easy to push that aside.
Later, as he checked his phone once more, he clenched his jaw seeing that Chelsea hadn’t responded to his text. He’d written that he missed her, and they could stop by with lunch if she was hungry. Nothing. It was late afternoon now and still no comment from her, positive or negative.
“Let’s stop in and see if your mom needs any help,” he suggested as he turned the car toward Seal Harbor.
When they pulled in the driveway, it was empty. Chelsea’s car was nowhere to be seen. He freed Jordan from her car seat, anyway, and climbed onto the porch. She’d given him a key, so he used it to let themselves in. Jordan bolted up to see her pink bedroom again while Theo headed toward the kitchen. There was a mug in the sink. Her box of tea bags sat open on the counter. She’d been here.
Pulling out his phone, he called her. It rang and rang, then her sweet voice told him to leave a message.
“Pixie, it’s Theo. Listen, I know I was upset yesterday, and I’m sorry. I’m not sure where you are, but we’re at the cottage. We’ll be here for a while if you planned on coming back. Call me and let me know. I love you.”
Was she honestly so stubborn she would avoid seeing Jordan today? As he wandered around the house, taking in all the renovations that had been done, he couldn’t stop thinking about her or the accidents that had occurred recently. The Precipice incident had only been ten days ago. Even though Chelsea had gotten hurt in the car crash, most of them seemed aimed his way. Had something happened to her?
Or was she having another bout of anxiety and depression like she’d had before? A few times lately, she’d seemed distant and almost out of it. He’d put it down to stress of getting the cottage ready for them to live here. Was it more? She wouldn’t run off again. Not with how she felt about their daughter.
The tone of his phone sounded, and he swiped his finger across the screen. Chelsea. Thank God.
—I need time. I’m not sure I can do this.—
What the heck? Time for what? And what couldn’t she do?
—What are you talking about? Where are you?—
It was only a few moments before his phone pinged again.
—I’m going home. I’m sorry.—
Home? Was she talking about his place? Or Westchester? That wasn’t right. Even in her most emotional state, she’d never thought of Westchester as home.
