Mercer is going to drop everything and come running in. And when he gets here, he’s going to do something useful. He’s going to offer to help.
“Mercer!”
“My little kraken! How is your day going?” I can hear Mercer’s voice boom through the speaker on the phone, warm and delighted to get Zack’s call.
“Mommy hurt her knee, and she says she’s okay, but she’s not okay. She won’t even eat her popsicle!” Zack says this as if my lack of appetite for orange and vanilla is akin to lying at death’s door.
“Her leg?”
“Uh-huh. She was on the ground.”
“I was just catching my breath!” I call, but Zack scampers away.
“On the ground? Zack, is she awake?”
“Yes, but she looks sad.”
“I’m coming over.”
“Yay! See, I knew you were a good dad.”
The words hit me like a gut punch. Yes. Mercer would be a first-rate dad. It’s ridiculous that Eli is the “real father,” and he’s actively doing things that will hurt Zack, either by taking him from me or taking the money that would be used for his education and care.
“Thank you. Stay on the phone with me until I get there.”
I pick up Zack and take the phone. “Mercer, I’m fine. I just... I hurt my knee,” I say in an unconvincing voice.
“Samantha, I need to leave. It’s an emergency. Restrict swimming and call in backup. What? I know I still have three more hours on my shift. It’s an emergency, my girlfriend is hurt, and our little boy is alone with her.” Mercer’s voice is steely, the kind of voice you don’t argue with.
He saidgirlfriend.
He saidour little boy.
I have never heard those words before. Not even “our son” when Zack was born. Eli called him “the kid,” and “the baby,” and “your son.”
I want to wrap my arms around Mercer’s neck and tell him we’re his, that he’s ours, that whatever walls I keep putting up are stupid.
But I argue anyway. Flying solo means you don’t ask for help. Having your husband leave you means you learn that you don’t ask men to come to your rescue in case they find out you’re “weak” and an easy target. That’s not true with Mercer, but my adrenaline doesn’t listen to reason.
“You don’t have to leave work, you’re coming over later. I’m walking now. I was just winded.” In shock. Shocked that Eli still has this “I have to win” mentality, like life is a game and his son and I are pieces on the board to capture or knock over.
“Too late, I’m on my way.”
“But you’re at work.”
“And you’re my mate—I mean, partner. Girlfriend. Aren’t you?”
A stubborn glow flickers back to life inside of me. “Yeah.”
“If I were hurt, wouldn’t you rush to my aid?”
I can’t picture Mercer getting hurt. He’s so big and strong.
Yet, I suddenly imagine him in some horrible water-related accident. Like, harpooned. Or cut by a speedboat’s rotors. I can’t picture life without him, even though he’s only been in my world for such a short time. I can’t picture Zack’s face if something were to happen to him. “I’d be there as fast as possible.”
“Then go rest. Put your feet up. What happened?”
“I... I read something terrible, and I fell to my knees.”
