I stroked her hair, the two of us holding onto each other as if we were scared the Grim Reaper would appear to tear us apart.
Butevenif he did appear, I wouldn’t let him take Billie from me.
No one would.
After reluctantly leaving Billie, promising her we’d throw a party to celebrate when her current school term was over, I returned home as dusk fell. I’d tried ringing James a number of times on the way home to tell him the news, but each time, his phone went to voicemail.
Begrudgingly, I phoned Alec to tell him, not in the slightest bit surprisedthathe was nonchalant at the news.
There was one more person I wanted to tell, but I held off. The last time Jackson and I were together, I was certain something had changed between us. He didn’t look at me like I was his enemy. He’d looked at me as if I were the only thing he needed in his life.
And then he ran out on me.
So, it was fair to say I was confused about the situation, and I didn’t think reaching out to him would help.
The second I walked through my front door, I went from room to room, collecting every single bottle of alcohol in the house before pouring them down the sink, and not giving a fuck if Alec would be mad.
I was quitting drinking. My daughter was healthy, and I was going to make damn sure she had her mother around for as long as possible. For the first time in years, I didn’t want a drink. I didn’t want to drown out the mess of my life.
All I wanted was to enjoy the moment of brightnessthathad been cast over me, and damn it, I was going to celebrate.
Forgoing dinner, I whizzed around the house cleaning it until it was sparkling. Alec would be home from his business trip tomorrow, and I wasn’t going to give him any reason to hurl his vile abuse at me.
As I cleaned, I turned the speakers on the sound system to full volume, dancing my way around the house to classic 80’s music, and singing at the top of my lungs. By the time I finished cleaning, my body vibrated with energy, and I was in no mood to stop dancing.
Changing into my pyjama top and shorts, I pushed the coffee table out of the way in the living room, and grabbed the remote to the sound system, using it as a microphone as I pranced around.
An enormous grin had set on my lips, not only from the news of Billie’s test results, but from feeling like a complete idiot for the pop concert I was putting on. It was a miracle the neighbors hadn’t called the cops to report a noise disturbance.
I ground my hips, running a hand down the side of my body, and feeling lighter than I had in a long time. Spinning, my singing turned into a scream, and I froze on the spot at finding the figure leaning against the doorframe, his inquisitive eyes raking over every inch of my body.
Jabbing the button to mute the music, I stared at Jackson, my eyes wide as my heart raced like a galloping horse, fright holding any words prisoner.
Jackson raised a brow as he straightened.“Are you drunk?”
“Are you going to tell me how you keep getting inside my house?”I replied, finding my voice.
He smirked, pulling a key out of his pocket and dangling it in front of him.“You’re not exactly safety conscious in this house, Kiki. You have no idea how easy it was to get a copy of the back door key.”
“I’ll make sure to change the lock tomorrow,”I huffed, rolling my eyes.“And to answer your question, no, I’m not drunk. I’mjust…happy.”
“Happy?”
My lips curled into a beaming smile.“Happy. I’ve had thebestnews ever.”
His gaze narrowed on me.“I figured you’d be relieved, but Ijustdidn’t expectthis.”He waved a hand at me, indicating my improvised dance floor.“How did you find out?”
I snorted.“How did I find out my daughter is in remission? I went to the doctor, duh. And of course I’m happy. I told you, it’s the best news.”
In three long strides, Jackson was standing in front of me. My head tipped back so I could look up at him.“Billie is in remission?”
My smile widened to the point my cheeks ached.“Yep.”My grin faltered.“Wait. You weren’t talking about her test results, were you?”
He released a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping.“Kiera…your dad’s dead.”
My brows shot up, almost disappearing into my hairline. I gaped at Jackson, his words repeating in my head but not making any sense.“Dead?”
Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he grimaced.“Yeah. There was a home invasion.”
