“Then why did the repairman call the authorities on you?”
I cringed. “No one has called the authorities on me. I went voluntarily, upon the repairman’s recommendation, asking for help. It’s a long story, and I don’t have to answer your questions. Elijah is not in danger. I am fine. You can go home now.”
“Terri’s wishes. Not mine,” he repeated as he pressed buttons on his screen, then held his phone to his ear. “I’m calling her now.”
My skin prickled with irritation. I wanted him to leave. Get off my property.
He managed to keep the smirk off his face, but his body language said,Maybe you really are cracking up, woman.
This was how he operated. Passive-aggressive. Makes you doubt yourself enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. How did he manage to bundle all those moves at once? I felt myselfslipping back into his spell while we waited for our daughter to answer the phone.
She didn’t, which kind of surprised me because I thought for sure she’d answer her daddy quicker than me. Either she was extremely caught up in work, or she had grown tired of her father’s endless demands without any effort to return the favor.
“I’ll have her send you a text,” Eric said. He took the final gulp of his tea and stood. “I need to get back on the road. Can you help Elijah pack his bags?”
“You help him,” I said. “I’m not your personal servant.”
That was when the smirk he’d been trying to hide peeked out. “How long you been waitin’ to say that, Joyce?”
Well, I had a smirk of my own to share. “Since our wedding day,” I stated coolly.
The corners of his lips dropped, and his silly grin fell with it. “You’re acting like we had a terrible marriage. A terrible family. You know I love you. You never wanted for anything, Joyce. And I was faithful to you. That alone is better than 90 percent of what you would have got from anybody else.”
I opened my lips to continue, but then I shut them. First, because we had different definitions of love. Second, because this was all déjà vu.He still doesn’t get it. He may not ever get it.
Back to the real subject. “You don’t have to take Elijah, Eric. I will get in touch with Terri later today and let her know that I made an executive decision to keep him.”
“There you go again, unilaterally making decisions that impact everybody else. I’m not driving back out here again to get him. He’s coming with me. Now. Per his mother’s orders.”
Eric was one volume notch away from yelling. I grew up with my father yelling a lot. He wasn’t angry; he was just loud. Loudnessalways made me shrink, and Eric knew exactly how to approach close enough to the line that it was debatable as to whether or not he’d raised his voice.
“Paw-Paw, stop.” Elijah had entered the kitchen again. “Fine. I’ll go with you. Just don’t yell at Grandma.”
While it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who’d classify Eric’s tone as “yelling,” my chest caved at the sight of Elijah’s tear-filled eyes. His attempt to protect me nearly crushed me. Children shouldn’t be caught up in the middle of grown-up issues.
“Pack your bags. Let’s go,” Eric ordered our grandson.
“Yes, sir.” Elijah obeyed.
I wanted to shout, to grab my grandson and tell him he didn’t have to go, he didn’t have to bow to Eric’s commanding voice. But my words got stuck somewhere between my mind and my throat, tangled up with old fears and fresh anger. Every part of my body crossed. My ankles, my arms, my stomach, inside. This was one of the main reasons we’d divorced; it was Eric’s way or no way at all. Well, it was kind of Terri’s way, too, according to Eric. Facts aside, it was the way my ex-husband showed up in times like these that reinforced my determination to stay single and solvent. I would never again second-guess myself for leaving him.
I excused myself to the hallway bathroom and tried calling my daughter again. Voicemail. I texted her a piece of my mind:Why did you send your father here for Elijah? You don’t think I can watch my own grandson? Why didn’t you call me first?
No answer.
A flash of my reflection in the mirror caught me. This woman staring back at me was frazzled. Annoyed. The extra creases on my forehead and the way my ample lips managed to press into a tightline—all of it pointed to a lack of peace. What was the point of moving to Robin Creek if all this stress followed me?
Thoughts of the ladies in the journaling group came to me suddenly. The last time I’d felt truly peaceful was when we were together. Writing. Talking. They’d welcomed me into their sisterhood. I sure could use a sister right now.
If Gabriella had been in the kitchen, she would have said something to Eric, no doubt. Then again, Eric reserved his snarkiest self for me and me alone. He would have presented his charming nature for a stranger.
I jumped at the knock on the door. “Grandma, I need to get my toothbrush.”
I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. Closed my eyes. I had to be strong for Elijah. With a tiny smile on my face, I opened the door and let him inside. “Don’t forget your deodorant, too. Can’t have you smelling like onions when you go back to Austin.”
He pushed past me. No laughter. Not even the slightest grin. He was angry, by the tightness around his lips. God knows his expression looked exactly like the one his mother wore throughout most of her teenage years, pulsing temple and all.
“Summer will be over before you know it,” I whispered to him.
