"Unbelievable," I mumbled along with other blasphemous sentiments.
Moving away from the foyer, I went into the living room. I just wanted to focus on Junior and Montana and forget about everything else.
*******
For the next week, Jacob was back in Atlanta but completely absorbed with the opening of the Delaware office. When he wasn’t having phone meetings, I was meeting my clients during the evening or doing extracurricular activities with my children. It wasn’t easy not being able to talk to him when I wanted to. At times, I would see something that Junior or Montana was doing and knew Jacob would appreciate it. I would instantly run to the phone to call him, but then back away, because he told me his schedule would be hectic.
As the week wound down from work, I thought about what to do for the weekend. I walked into the living room where I spotted the kids each coloring a picture. I smiled at them, both oblivious to the fact that I was watching. It had been awhile since the three of us had done anything by ourselves, and it was a beautiful day outside.
"What do you say we go to the park?" I asked, waiting for them to look up.
"Just the three of us?" Junior asked.
"That’s the general idea," I answered with a smile.
He frowned, and I fought the urge to ask why he looked upset. Once he began talking, I didn’t need to wonder.
"It’s been awhile since I saw Jacob. Does he want to see us anymore?" he asked.
Pain shot through my heart.
Junior had confused Jacob’s absence with rejection. He shouldn’t feel the need to carry the burden of anything happening in my and Jacob's relationship.
“Oh, honey,” I began, and sat down on the couch. I patted the two spots next to me "I need to talk to you both."
Montana pulled herself up. I didn’t think she would quite understand, but she did ask about him, too.
"Jacob adores you both very much, almost as much as I love you. It is killing him that he can’t hang out with you guys. He has a lot going on at his job, and he has to take care of that first. I promise you the minute he can, he’ll come back here and we’ll all go out again. Okay?"
Junior seemed to think on it, and finally nodded his understanding.
Montana stared at the floor. "I miss Acob," she finally said.
I pulled them both close to me.
"I miss Acob, too," I said.
It meant a lot to me that she felt that way and that Junior wanted him around. I made the right decision about having him in our lives.
"Go to the bathroom and get washed up. I’ll be there in a second to help you," I said, and they rushed off.
I stared after them, both such blessings in my life.
I was just getting up when I heard the doorbell. I peeked through the peephole and saw Montie Sr. outside. I opened the door and shook my head.
"What are you doing here?"
"That’s a fine welcome," he laughed, entering the house without an invitation.
"Don’t you have some work to do, or something? Anything besides showing up here? Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing’s wrong. I just thought I would swing by and see the kids."
It definitely was not like him to come by on his off weekend. "Well, you kind of picked the wrong time to make an unexpected visit. We’re going out."
"Oh? Where to?" He asked, glancing around the house.
“It’s not any of your business where I’m going, but, if you must be nosey, we’re going to the park," I blurted out and rolled my eyes to the heavens.
"It’s been ages since I’ve been to a park. Is Jacob going?"
"No, just me and the kids."
"Care if I tag along?"
"Yes, I do care," I snapped. "This is time for just the three of us. I don’t interfere with your plans and I would appreciate you not interfering with mine."
I quickly glanced down the hall to make sure the kids weren’t listening.
"Now…" I lowered my voice, "If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you would leave. I would like to get on with my weekend."
Montie stood firm…unwavering.
Junior came out of the bathroom. His eyes focused on Montie Sr. and grew in size. "Daddy!" he called, running and crashing into Montie.
"Hey, buddy." Montie smiled at me and kissed our son on the forehead.
“Junior, where’s your sister?" I asked.
"She’s waiting for you in the bathroom," he said and turned back to Montie. "Are you coming with us to the park?"
My heart fell the minute I heard him ask the question.
"Junior, he is too busy today," I said, glaring at Montie.
"Oh…" Junior’s lips went into pouting formation.
"I’m never too busy for you, son," Montie said, pulling him into a hug. “I’d love to go to the park with you guys. That’s if it’s okay with your mother.”
My jaw dropped, and I stormed down the hall to go help Montana. Montie was weaseling his way into my plans with the kids and I couldn’t do anything about it without looking like an ass.
Thirty minutes later, I pushed Montana while Montie Sr. pushed Junior on the swings. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, but I was wondering why Montie Sr. was even there. Periodically, he glanced at me and winked or smiled, which caught me off guard. This wasn’t the way my day was supposed to go.
After the swings, the kids wanted to go down the slide again. I hung back, letting them play and kicked myself for getting caught up on this faux family day.
"Thank you so much for inviting me," Montie said.
I glared at him. "I didn’t…our son did."
He shrugged, "You didn’t do anything to stop it, so I figured you must have been okay with it."
"What could I say, Montie? I wasn’t going to let Junior down, even though the last thing I wanted was for you to come along. I wanted some time alone with the kids…something you always get and I never get."
"That’s by your own choice," he shot back. "You have them far more time than I do, but you bring Jacob into the picture and choose to allow him to tag along with you and the kids wherever you go."
Montie was punishing me for trying to be happy and that bothered me. "The point is, I don’t understand why you’re here," I hissed between my teeth.
He looked away, watching Montana as she slid down the slide. She was laughing and then it was Junior’s time. Montie was engrossed in watching the kids play, and I wondered if he forgot what I said. Finally, he turned to me.
"You want to know why I came over today?" he asked.
"I said I did," I sarcastically replied.
He was more nervous than I had ever seen him before. His chocolate dimples formed in his otherwise smooth face as he said, "I’m worried about you."
"Worried about me? That’s odd. Why would you be worried about me now, when you weren’t worried about me when I was your wife?"
He fidgeted from one foot to another. "You seemed happy with your new boyfriend and then all of sudden he’s not around. I came over to check things out."
I laughed. "So you wanted to spy on me?"
"Yeah, I wanted to see if Jacob was there. If he was, then I could move on and forget about it, but if he weren’t…then I would need to be worry about your well-being. I want you to be happy."
"Montie, you don’t have to be concerned," I replied, averting my attention from his solemn eyes. "Jacob and I are fine. He's busy working. We’re not breaking up, but there comes a time when two people need a breather to handle their own business, you know?"
"Humph. Tell me about it," he spoke.
It bothered me the way he said that, seeming to lump Jacob and me into the same category as our dead marriage. "You have no clue what I mean," I replied.
"You and I needed a breather and we took one." He stepped closer to me so that our faces were a few inches apart. "Now may be the time to get back together."
My eyes followed Junior and Montana, who were racing each other
to the merry-go-round. I watched them get on as another adult was pushing it around for her son.
"Montie, you and I aren’t taking a breather. We finalized a divorce, for crying out loud! And that’s because there were things more important to you in life than our marriage. Now, I’m with Jacob, who loves me and I love him. We’ll work through whatever comes our way.” My eyes tore away from the merry-go-round to look at him. “I don’t want you interfering with our relationship."
He grabbed my hand. "Destiny, I can’t let you go without telling you that I’m still deeply in love with you."
"You’re not in love with me, Montie," I argued, removing my hand from his. “You just don’t want to see me happy with someone else.”
He stood up and reached for my hand again. “Destiny, listen…”
"Montie, stop that. Don’t touch me."
"Destiny, in my heart, I owe it to myself and to you to be truthful. I seriously am still in love with you. I never for one minute stopped being in love with you."
"You think you're still in love with me? Maybe you are in love with the idea of me. I am the mother of your children. I stood by you, work and all, until our marriage was over and I had nothing left to give you. I just can’t…" my words trailed off at the sound of a shrilling scream. Montana was lying on the ground hollering in agony. I rushed to her side.
"I…I am so sorry," the woman was muttering. Tears started falling down the stranger’s face. "I didn’t see that she was starting to fall off."
"I’m sure she’ll be fine," I said to console the woman.
"Mommy…" Montana cried out. As she attempted to sit up, an angry gash along her chin bled out. I immediately knew she would need stitches.
I glanced at Montie, our conversation out of my mind, and he picked Montana up.
"Let’s get to the hospital," he said as I grabbed Junior’s hand.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DESTINY
By My Side
I sat in the waiting room, wringing my hands together, on edge about Montana being with the doctor. It was only stitches, but she was still young and I wanted to be there for her. The staff kept insisting that she would be fine in the back without me.
"Destiny, I’m sorry we weren’t paying attention to them, but she could’ve had the accident either way," Montie reasoned.
I glared at him. "That’s not the point. We should’ve never been in this situation to start with. We’re divorced, and as far as I am concerned, nothing has changed. If I weren’t distracted by you today, I would have been by her side the entire time."
My phone rang, and I glanced at the caller ID. Jacob’s number lit up, as if he had intuition enough to know that I needed to hear from him at that very moment.
"I’ll be back," I mumbled and glanced at Junior, "Do you mind watching him?"
"He's my son; of course not," Montie said with an incredulous look on his face.
“Good.” I got up and headed around the corner. "Hello?" I answered the phone, my voice crackling as if I were going cry at any moment.
"Destiny?" Jacob said my name, and a whirlwind of emotions swept up inside of me causing me to sob. "Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me," Jacob insisted.
"I just glad to hear from you," I said above a sniffle. "You won’t believe the horrible day I’ve had. Montie came over, and we all went to the park, and then…"
"Wait a minute. Montie went with you to the park?" he asked, cutting into my rambling.
"Yes. The kids wanted him to, but that’s not the worst part. We were arguing and I lost track of Montana until she screamed after falling off the merry-go-round. She has a big cut on her face, and we’re at the emergency room now. She has to get stitches. It’s a nice-sized cut, so I hope her face heals. God, I hope it’s not permanent." I controlled my erratic breaths as I continued. "Sorry, I sound like a blubbering idiot. I wasn’t expecting you to call. What were you calling for?"
There was a long hesitation on the other end. "I just had an inkling that I needed to see how you were doing. Now, I know why. I want to be there for you, Destiny, but I’m sure Montie is there and I don’t want to get in the way of your family. But all you have to do is tell me you want me to come to the hospital."
"Do what you feel is right, Jacob."
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, I just told you what happened. I shouldn’t have to tell you what to do next.”
"You don’t have to, baby. I’m on my way." He ended the call.
I went back to the waiting room and sat down, feeling better already.
The doctor came out of the room and I quickly stood up. "Thanks for being patient with us. It’s sometimes easier to do these procedures when parents aren’t in the room, and especially in Montana’s case where she wanted you to hold her. She was calmer once you left out. At any rate, she has twelve stitches. It was a deep cut; however, I’m confident scarring will be minimal."
"Thank you so much for taking good care of our daughter," I said, breathing a sigh of relief as I glanced at Montie.
“Accidents like this happen all the time, and it’s our pleasure to be able to help. You may go in and sit with Montana, while the nurse gets your discharge instructions on how to care for the stitches ready,” the doctor said before he went back through the same door from which he had come.
Montie Sr. gawked and asked, "Why’s he here?"
My attention went to the entrance and I smiled when I saw Jacob walking toward us. "I asked him to come. Thank you so much for coming right away, Jacob. I was just getting ready to go back to check on Montana. The doctor says we can be with her now."
"Of course, I’m here, babe," Jacob said.
"Jacob!" Junior ran to him and threw his arms around Jacob.
I couldn’t help but look at Montie who let out a loud huff. Irritation rippled through his eyes as he stood there fuming.
"Let’s go check on Montana," Jacob said.
I wanted Jacob by my side, but Montie wasn’t going for it. "They only allow two people back at a time," said Montie.
"Oh, no problem. I’ll wait out here with Junior, while you two go back," Jacob said, understanding. I gave him a gracious look, as Montie and I headed through the double doors to Montana’s room.
She jumped up and down when we entered. "Mommy…Daddy…I hungry."
I laughed, thankful to see that she was fine. "We’ll get you something to eat as soon as you get out of here. The doctor said you got your stitches like a big girl. Let me see them," I lifted her chin.
“I did it like a big girl, like you told me to, mama.”
I hugged her neck and said, "Good job, sweetie. Hey, you know who’s in the waiting room and wanting to see you?"
She shook her head. “No.”
"Jacob…"
Her eyes got big. "Acob here?"
"How about you let me hold my own daughter, before you go throwing his name around?" Montie said sarcastically.
“You’re too much,” I said underneath my breath and rolled my eyes at Montie. I leaned down and kissed Montana’s forehead. "I’ll go get Jacob and let him come in for a few minutes."
Before I left out the room, I heard Montie say, "Montana, I’m sorry that you fell and hurt yourself, but I’m glad you’re better. Daddy loves you."
"I wub you, Daddy."
When I walked back into the room with Jacob and Junior, Montie hugged Montana. Her eyes lit up when Montie stepped away and she could see Jacob.
"Acob!"
"That’s some bandage you have there," he said, leaning over the bed and hugging her. "Did it hurt?"
"Not weally," she spoke.
"As soon as the doctor lets you go, we’ll grab a bite to eat," I interrupted. I smiled, seeing how relaxed everyone was, until I looked at Montie.
"Yay!" the kids said in unison.
I laughed.
“I’ll see you guys next weekend,” Montie said and waved as he walked out the door.
> "You’re not going to eat with us?" I asked, catching up to him in the hallway.
He smirked. "Nah, I don’t really have an appetite to sit anywhere chumming it up with you, the kids, and Jacob. That’s a little overcrowded, don’t you think?"
"Suit yourself." I shrugged. “I was only trying to be polite.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
“What’s your issue, Montie?”
“Just enjoy your dinner, Destiny.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DESTINY
No Boundaries
Over the next few months, Jacob spent every chance he could with the kids and me, buying gifts and taking us places I never dreamed of going, like an impromptu midday trip to San Antonio just to ride the river boats. We were back in Atlanta before nightfall that day and I enjoyed every minute of it. The kids were comfortable around him, which made me feel good about opening up to him.
As much as I wanted to be in Jacob's my arms and share my nights with him, we made a pledge not to move in together until we were married. I didn’t like when my kids went to their father’s house, but I was excited for quality time with Jacob.
Friday rolled around, and the doorbell rang all too soon. The kids were busy watching cartoons, as I went to the door to greet my ex. He wore a smug smile, when I welcomed him inside.
"The kids are ready and—” I began. He put up his hand to stop me.
"Before I grab them and leave, can we talk?"
I wasn’t interested in another conversation that he’d been bombarding me with every time his weekend came around. I turned on my heels and headed into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
"What’s up now?" I asked, nonchalantly.
"I want to discuss your boyfriend."
"You should be bored with asking questions about Jacob. Nothing that you have to ask has changed since the last time you asked. It seems like you would have found another topic by now, Montie." I crossed my arms.
"I’m concerned by the amount of time he spends around our children. We both know that he’s a rich cat from Miami, but how much do you really know about his past?" Montie asked.
"One minute you're asking why he's not here. Now, you're saying he's here too much and questioning his character. I know more about Jacob than I knew about him, so don't worry about me, Montie. I know everything that I need to know. Is that all you wanted to ask?" I stood up.
Breathless: In Love With an Alpha Billionaire Page 9
