Damn it, he ended up pacing away after all. “I like my time alone in December.”
“What if I promise you won’t see us?”
I’ll still know you’re here. Worse, Ryder might think he was avoiding him, and the kid seemed...what? Not needy, because Joey was an attentive parent. So maybe just lonely? Hungry for company? With no one else around, Hendrix wouldn’t do anything to make the kid feel unwelcome.
Taking a firm stance, determined to stay put, Hendrix asked, “Why, Joey? Don’t you have holiday plans somewhere? Everyone does, right? Family and friends to see, all that festive...stuff.” Almost saidshit, but that’d be rude.
More rude than requesting that she and her son go away.
With her bottom lip caught in her teeth, Joey looked back at the cabin to ensure Ryder wasn’t listening. Her voice dropped to a breathy whisper. “No, we have nowhere to go and no one to see.”
How could that be? Bending toward her, Hendrix matched her tone when he asked, “What about Ryder’s father?” It was something he’d wondered about many times. How could any man, once he had her, let her go? And Ryder was such a great kid, you’d think he would have seen the dad hanging around.
She inhaled, slowly exhaled, and braced herself. “We haven’t seen Ted in a while.”
His curiosity ramped up. “How long is a while?”
“At least eight months, though I wasn’t counting the days. Over six months ago, he quit making any pretense at child support. Apparently, he left town. I only know that because his parents blame me.”
Anger on her behalf rocked him. Anyone who knew Joey would know better. If there were problems, he’d place blame on the dude right now. “They actually said that?”
“Yup.” As if embarrassed, she looked away. “They’ve stopped inquiring about Ryder. My parents are gone, and my sister lives in New York.” Her gaze returned to lock with his. “I can’t afford to go to New York right now.” A deep pink flush colored her cheeks, but she held his gaze as she said, “I can’t afford to go anywhere.”
Sympathy at her plight, and anger at her ex and his family, clashed in his head and heart. “Is your ex court-ordered to pay support?”
“Yes, but he’s always been hit or miss, and he’s never paid the full amount.” She pushed curls from her face and again glanced at the cabin. “I have full custody, and Ted has supervised visitation.”
That didn’t sound good, causing him to frown. As a rule, supervised visitation wasn’t given without good reason.
She must have misread his concern, because she said defensively, “If it was only a matter of money, I wouldn’t keep Ryder from his father.”
Wondering about this side of her life, something she’d never before discussed, Hendrix encouraged her to continue. “So not just missed child support?” Though to him, that was reason enough.
With the air of a great confession, she said, “Ted drinks too much. Always has.”
Hendrix was willing to bet it was more than that, too. “Even before you had Ryder?”
A measure of shame put a hush in her tone. “I knew it was a problem, but I married him anyway.”
“So you misjudged how things would turn out. Happens to humans all the time.” The urge to tweak one of her corkscrewcurls had him tightening his hands in his pockets. “Hate to break it to you, but no one is perfect. Not even you.” By looks alone, though, Joey came close with her large eyes, the dimples in her smooth cheeks, and that elfin chin. Even her nose, a tiny bit too long to be deemed perfect, absolutely suited her face.
She sighed heavily. “One time, Ted came to court drunk and it was so ugly.”
“I’m guessing that embarrassed you more than him?” From what he’d seen, Joey was always polite, respectful, and helpful when she could be. She did not cause public disruptions.
She shot him a grimace. “I was mortified. Ryder wasn’t there, thank God. He was too young to be in a courtroom, but he’d spoken with a guardian ad litem. He told her that anytime his dad was around he’d yell at me and Ryder didn’t like it.” Her voice softened even more. “Ted was so loud and angry, it scared him.”
“I imagine that held a lot of sway with the court.” Over the years, he’d seen many cases where courts valued the opinions of the kids.
“Ted didn’t do any of the court-ordered programs, so that influenced things, too.”
Sounded to him like old Ted had screwed up priorities. “What type of programs?”
“Parental counseling, anger management, and an alcohol treatment program. Plus he kept dropping in unannounced.” Worry turned down the corners of her mouth. “Ted hated being supervised for visitations, even though the court ordered it. Sometimes he’d catch Ryder and me outside. It always turned ugly.”
“Then he should have done what he could to correct things.”
“The thing is, Ted wasn’t cut out to be a dad. Not every man is.”
