But he knows every button I have because he built them all. Every fear I have about losing Ethan, every doubt that hits meat two in the morning—he knows where they live and he digs straight in, purposefully trying to push them all.
"You're disgusting," he snarls, and that crosses the line. He has women at his house all the time without giving me a chance to interview them and find out whether I want them around my son. What I do on my time is my business, not his.
"You need to leave," I tell him angrily, raising my hand to point at the parking lot. "This is my time with Ethan and you're not on the schedule."
"Keep that bastard away from my son," he growls, "or next time I see this, I'm calling the mediator."
He turns and stomps off, but my hands are shaking now. Derek is such an ass. It's like the only thing in his head is some sick vendetta to prove I'm trash. If I'm so bad, why did he marry me to begin with? All that lovey-dovey talk of growing old together means nothing now that I've seen his true colors. He just can't stand it that he cheated and got caught and a judge sided with me that I'm the better parent. And now it's coming back to bite me daily.
I'm about to start crying when Caleb walks up, sans Ethan. He's managed to slip the tail for a second and his hand lands on my shoulder. When I turn, burying my face in his chest, he acts surprised at first, then softens and holds me.
"He's such an ass," I sob, feeling so vulnerable. I hate Derek so much. I can't believe I ever loved him or saw any good in him. What was I thinking?
"You're doing everything right," he says quietly. "Don't let him make you question that."
Caleb is such a rock right now, letting me fall apart, but it's really too soon for this much display of affection. I sniffle and wipe my eyes, pulling back to force a smile.
"Thank you," I manage, but it comes out rough and broken.
Caleb's scowl has returned again, but it's darker than normal. That protective look in his eyes is comforting. Whether he knows my ex-husband or not, I can see he recognizes how bad that relationship has gotten. "Go watch your kid play," he says. "I'll be in the truck."
I want to hug him, or place a kiss on his cheek, but he walks away. I watch him go for a moment before I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and walk to the bleachers to sit down. Ethan is back on the field with a few kids who've stuck around after practice. The coach stands talking with a few parents, and I sink into my spot wishing like hell I had the money to sell that old house and move so far away, Derek could never find us. Ethan would be heartbroken, but I know it would remove one hundred percent of my stress.
And when I look over at the truck under the tree where Caleb sits watching the field, I know something has shifted between us. This man doesn't have any obligation to me or my son, but he keeps being present. And while his rough demeanor makes it difficult to discern what he's really thinking, he's proving by his actions that he wants to show up.
God, I'm falling for him, and it's going to make things between me and Derek ten times worse. It's a price worth paying, especially for how incredible Caleb seems to be, but I'm not sure I can pay that cost.
I'm so tired of fighting.
12
CALEB
Ipull into Derek's driveway and kill the engine. Olivia's face won't leave my head no matter how I try to push it away. She was so upset when Derek confronted her at that soccer field. She held it together until he turned his back and then she just let go, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.
The man crossed a line tonight, and I can't sit back and let him think that I'm going to be a part of this little scheme he's cooked up anymore.
I get out of the truck and walk to his front door and knock, and Derek opens with a glass of whiskey in his hand and a glare on his face. He steps aside and lets me in, and I walk past him into his kitchen without waiting for an invitation. I feel like a caged animal about to tear into someone.
"You want to tell me what that was today?" I ask him, turning around to face him as he leans against the counter.
"I drove past my son's soccer practice and saw a stranger playing with him in a public park." He takes a sip and sets the glass down, and the look on his face is almost disgust. "I had everyright to be concerned." He can't possibly think I'm going to fall for this load of crap. He had no worries about my being there. This was entirely a chance opportunity he seized to try to make Olivia break down in public.
"You didn't look concerned, Derek. You acted like a total ass and made her cry in front of the other parents." My hand curls into a fist in my pocket as I clench my jaw, willing myself not to hit him.
"She needs to understand the consequences of her choices." He folds his arms over his chest and tilts his chin up. "I've told her a dozen times to keep you away from Ethan and she ignores me. At some point, I have to make it clear that there are repercussions."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I snap, consciously gluing my feet to the floor so I don't approach him. He's purposefully inciting something he knows is innocent. "Your eight-year-old asked me to kick a ball around, and you fucking hired me to be around them. What game are you trying to play?"
"You just don’t understand. This is a pattern, Caleb. You're over there every day fixing things and eating dinner and playing house with my family. How does that look to a judge?" He wags his eyebrows as if I’m in on this scheme, and it pisses me off. He planted me hoping it would make Olivia look unstable? What does he expect, that she'll never date again?
"It looks like a neighbor helping out a single mother who could use a hand. That's how it looks." I need to calm myself down or I’m really going to hit him. "What if she just starts dating someone, Derek? Do you mean to tell me you've not brought a single woman home around Ethan?"
Derek pushes off the counter and takes a step toward me. "You're losing perspective. I hired you to gather evidence, not to become part of her life. Besides, I'm able to properly vet the women who come into my home and she doesn’t say a word about who's around Ethan."
Now my blood is boiling. "Does she get a say in what women you bring around Ethan?"
He chuckles, shaking his head as he sips his drink again. "It's not part of your job to worry about that, okay?"
