“Why? said Cody.
Savvy’s face fell, and her eyes glistened. “But she has two more projects she wanted me to do.”
“You’re done working for her. I told you rich people can sometimes demand too much of their employees, and this proves it.”
“But she hasn’t demanded anything of me, and she’s paid me a lot. I still owe her work because she paid for my prom dress and for the hair and nail appointment.”
Austin ground his teeth together. The fact that Debbie had gone ahead and paid for Savvy’s hair and nail appointment even though they weren’t together anymore rubbed him wrong. He’d had enough time to think, and he’d realized she probably hadn’t been the one to pay the hospital bill, since she’d been busy with the twins all week. He couldn’t bring himself to apologize to her, though, because he still felt too apprehensive about how her money would affect their lives.
“I made a promise to Debbie.” Savvy raised her chin even though tears fell on her cheeks. “I can’t back out now. You of all people should know that. What kind of work ethic is that?”
Austin rolled his neck. His daughter had a point, but he couldn’t go to Debbie’s house every day to pick up his kids and pretend nothing was wrong. Nor could he expect her to continue to tend his boys and feed his family.
“Fine.” The word came out clipped. “Let Debbie know you’ll have to finish her projects on Saturdays when I can be home with the boys.”
“But—”
Austin held up a hand and cut off the boys’ protests.
Savvy’s lips pressed into a thin line, and her shoulders slumped. She gave a slight nod before walking out of the room.
The bathroom door slammed, and Austin jumped.
Great. How do I repair my relationship with my daughter after something like this?
At least Rainey’s mom had insisted on the after party being at her house where she could chaperone, and he didn’t need to worry about taking advantage of Debbie any more than he already had.
“I want to go to Debbie’s house after school,” Cody said. He folded his arms and affected a pout.
Dallas’s arms were folded too, but he stared down at his lap.
Austin let out a heavy sigh. “I know you do, but we won’t be going over there anymore, so you’ll just have to get used to the idea.” He picked up the dice and passed them to Dallas. “Let’s finish our game before I have to take Savvy to get her hair done.”
“I don’t want to play anymore,” Dallas mumbled before getting up and walking out the back door.
“Me either,” Cody swiped a hand across his money, knocking most of it to the floor, and followed his brother.
Austin resisted the urge to shove the whole game off the table.
How did our lives go from almost perfect to perfectly miserable in a matter of hours?
CHAPTER29
Aflash of guilt filled Debbie’s chest as her mom bent and picked up four dirty diapers from the family room floor. She’d been meaning to get to those. Just like she’d been meaning to do a lot of things this past week. She usually used the girls’ nap time to do some cleaning, but she hadn’t been able to get herself to do more than cry or watch Netflix lately.
“When was the last time you ate something?” Mom asked after returning from throwing the diapers away. When Debbie didn’t answer, she went on. “Please tell me you at least ate some of the macaroni and cheese you made for the girls.”
Debbie grimaced. She was not a fan of most of the convenience foods the girls seemed to prefer, but she couldn’t find the energy or desire to cook anything else.
Mom knowing she made mac & cheese for the girls for lunch reminded her she still needed to wipe off the kitchen table and sweep the floor. And load the dishwasher. She pulled the laundry basket she’d deposited in the family room last night up onto the couch beside her.
Why did all the daily tasks she used to enjoy doing suddenly feel like such a chore?
The cleaning service was due to come tomorrow, for which Debbie was grateful, but she would be embarrassed if they found two-day-old food on her floors.
“That’s what I thought,” Mom said, propping her hands on her hips and shaking her head. “It’s a good thing I brought over some freezer meals. I put two of them in the freezer and the other two in the fridge to start thawing.”
“Thanks,” Debbie said, mustering a smile.
