by K. C. Crowne
“I’ll have the lobster thermidor with a side of the king-crab mashed potatoes. And for an appetizer, I’d like the seafood tower.”
My jaw dropped, but no sound came out. I glanced at the menu, trying to do some quick math, but everything was listed at “Market price” instead of telling me the true cost.
“And for you, sir?” the waiter asked.
“Uhh, nothing yet. I’m waiting for a friend,” I said.
The waiter shot me a look, but I shrugged. This was my idea, after all. She was doing me a favor by driving all the way down here to meet with Declan. I’d found her on Facebook and sent her a message, and if this worked out like I hoped, it would be worth it. It would mean I was one step closer to the car.
The waiter scurried off as I checked my phone. “Oh, he got stuck at the office, and he’s on his way now.”
“Oh good.” Her voice didn’t sound as excited as I would have expected.
I looked up and asked again, “So how have you been since high school?”
“Oh, you know. Working a lot, doing my own things. I can’t believe it’s been twenty years since we graduated.”
“Twenty years?” I asked, confused.
“Yes. Did I get it wrong?”
“Well, it was more like fifteen years ago.”
“Exactly! Time just seems to fly by, doesn’t it? I can’t keep track of the years,” she said. “So how’s Donnie been?”
“Donnie?” I asked.
She stared at me with a blank expression. “Dean?”
“Do you mean Declan?”
“Yes, that’s who I meant,” she said with a snap of her fingers. “My damned memory has gone to shit these days, let me tell you.”
I leaned back in the chair and thought about our conversations. They had been brief, but when I asked her if she was the same Evelyn Palmer who graduated from Liberty High School fifteen years ago, she’d said she was. Her profile picture had been heavily filtered with sparkles all over her face, and I couldn’t tell what she looked like.
And I’d believed her. After all, why would she have lied? Before I could dig in any deeper, Declan’s voice pulled me back to the present.
“Hey there,” he said.
I stood up and said, “Uhh hi, Declan… I wanted to introduce you to someone.”
Before I could say anything, Evie stood up and rushed toward Declan, wrapping her arms around him. “Oh Dean, you look just as good as I remember!”
He yelped as she grabbed his ass, staring at me with a totally confused look on his face. “Uhh, do we know each other?”
“Evie! Evie Palmer! Please tell me you haven’t forgotten me, Dean?”
“My name isn’t Dean, and wait, did you say—” Declan looked at me. “What’s going on here? This isn’t funny, man.”
“It’s not a joke,” Evie squealed.
“Yeah, it has to be, because you’re not the same Evie Palmer I dated in high school,” he stated.
“I’ll show you,” she said, digging something out of her purse. She whipped out what appeared to be a driver’s license and held it in his face.
“Yes, your name is Evelyn Palmer, but it says you were born in 1970.”
The walls crashed down around us and hit me with all the bricks. I’d been catfished.
“Shit, man,” I said, standing up from the table. “I’m sorry. I believed her when she told me—”
Declan held a hand up. “Just stop. I don’t even want to hear it.”
He turned and walked toward the exit. Before I could leave, however, the waiter stopped me, “Sir, someone needs to pay that check.”
I had to catch up to Declan, to explain what had happened - and that my intentions were pure - so I handed the waiter my credit card. “Charge it all here. I’ll be right back to get the card in a few minutes.”
I pushed out the doors and caught Declan as he was getting into the truck.
“You know, Clark told me something was up with you,” he said, shaking his head. “It makes sense now. You’re scared you’re gonna lose this bet, aren’t you?’
“I’m not. I just wanted to help you. I know you never got over Evie and—”
“Stop it. Stop talking about her, please.” His voice sounded pained.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, man. I promise.”
He took a deep, ragged breath and nodded. “I know, Liam.” Then he surprised me by breaking out in laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“The fact that you sat there with her and honestly thought she was Evie, that’s what’s funny. She’s clearly almost twenty years older than us.”
“I thought I was just being shallow.”
“Well, you are shallow, man, but this? This you won’t be able to live down.”
“Yeah, and you wanna know the worst part?” I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared at the ground.
“What?”
“I likely just paid several hundred dollars to be catfished.”
“Good. Maybe it’ll teach you,” he said, laughing again.
Declan got into his truck and started the engine. He drove off, and I was about to do the same before I remembered my card.
Dammit. I really did get taught a lesson.
Emma fell asleep as soon as her belly was full. Not even time for a bath tonight. But Abigail was still running circles around me when it came time for her bath. We made it quick and she nearly hopped out of the tub.
“You really are a little bunny, aren’t you?” I asked, putting the pink bunny robe on her.
“I go hop hop!” she said, hopping around as I did my best to dry her off. I pulled it up over her head, giving her adorable bunny ears. She smiled and kept hopping.
“Oh no, where’s Abby?” I asked. “All I see is an adorable little bunny rabbit.”
She giggled. “Hop hop!”
“Silly bunny ready to get in her pajamas?” I asked.
“Bunny go hop hop!”
I needed to get her bunny pajamas; maybe it would make it easier for her to get dressed for bed. She was wrapped snugly in the little robe, though, so I wasn’t worried about her being cold as she hopped out of the bathroom.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Candace Peter’s number lit up on the screen.
My heart dropped.
I should be happy to hear from her; it was likely good news about the Howards. The girls would be much better with a family like them.
I almost didn’t answer, instead wanting to continue playing bunny with Abigail instead.
“Hello,” I said, picking Abigail up.
“Weee!” she said, pretending to fly by putting her arms out as I walked down the stairs.
“Hello, Mr. McDowell.” Ms. Peter’s voice wasn’t as cheerful as I would expect it to be. “I’ve heard from the Howards, and I’m afraid it’s not good news. They’ve decided they only want to adopt one child at this time and asked about taking Emma since she’s younger and they really wanted a baby. Unfortunately, we do not advocate for separating siblings.”
“No, of course not,” I said, reaching the bottom floor and placing Abigail firmly on her feet. “I wouldn’t be okay with separating them anyway, even if it was allowed.”
While part of me was relieved that I’d have the girls a bit longer, on the inside, I was also raging at the idea of separating these two sweet girls from each other. Who wouldn’t want Abigail as a daughter? Sure, she was a little unruly, but that was part of her charm. The way she had played with Emma in front of them, and they wanted to separate them?
“Good, I’m glad we’re in agreement over this. But sadly, it means we need you to keep them for a bit longer. Are you okay with that?”
Abigail was back to hopping and giggling; she’d circled the couch and was working her way over to me with a toothy grin.
“Of course I am,” I said. “They can stay as long as needed. I wanna make sure we find the best possible family for them.”
And clearly, the Howards weren’t that fami
ly. Because what kind of heartless people would separate siblings?
I got off the phone with Ms. Peters after saying goodbye, and I was angry. I was so mad that anyone would choose one of my girls over the other. It just wasn’t right.
Abigail stopped in front of me and yawned really big.
“Sleepy bunny?” I asked her.
She shook her head, but her tired eyes told me that was a lie.
“What if I told you a story about a happy little bunny?”
“Yes! Pweese!” she said, jumping up and down.
“Only if we can get you in your pajamas and get you into bed,” I told ehr.
She reached for me and nodded her head really fast, knocking the hood with the bunny ears off her head. She had such a big heart.
I carried her back upstairs just as my phone buzzed again with a text message. I checked it once I secured the baby gate on the steps.
It was from Ezra.
Heard what you did to Clark and Declan - Sounds like someone’s scared of losing.
As much as I wanted to call him back and tell him he was dead wrong, that was a lie. Because as soon as I read the message, Alex’s face flashed in my mind.
He was right.
I was scared.
And not just of losing the car.
Chapter 18
Alex
Three weeks and not a peep from Charlie and Tessa. Their lawyer hadn’t even responded to mine about the potential custody agreement. Not a word.
I tried not to think about how it had been as long since I’d heard from Liam as well. He didn’t even come back for the little mouse toy. He responded and said Abigail had taken over Emma’s, and Emma was fine with that since she had another bear she loved.
Then… nothing.
I’d wanted to ask him about the visit with the social worker but thought better of it. It was none of my business. If he wanted space, I would give him all the space he needed.
I had to run some errands and realized that even though we lived in a small town, I couldn’t recall seeing Liam around Liberty before that night at the bar. Perhaps it was because I never knew him before, or maybe we just didn’t have similar lifestyles. Considering he worked all day and apparently stayed out all night, and I was going to the store in the morning on my day off - a time when he’d likely still be asleep if the girls were adopted.
My heart sank at the thought of never seeing any of them again, and sometimes I felt hopeful while shopping. If I saw a redheaded little girl run past, I would think, “Is it Abigail?” But so far, it hadn’t been her, and I had a bad feeling I wouldn’t run into them again. Liam, maybe, but the sweet girls? Unlikely.
After all, he’d made it very clear. He didn’t think he had what it took to be a father; the arrangement was only temporary.
Still, I kept an eye out as I pushed my cart through the aisles of the local grocery store. I was ready to turn down the baby food aisle when I heard someone call my name.
“Alexandra? Is that you?”
A woman’s voice. Not Liam. Not that he’d called me Alexandra anyway. The voice didn’t sound familiar at first, and so I turned around and saw Tessa’s mother walking toward me. I gripped the shopping cart handle tightly and looked around for an escape route. The last thing I wanted was drama. I’d already been sick with stress for the last week or so. My stomach couldn’t take any more of it.
I reminded myself she didn’t know about the boys. Tessa hadn’t wanted her parents to know she was giving up her babies.
“Oh, hello Mrs.—”
“Call me Pam,” she interrupted, and though her words sounded friendly, there was a coldness in her tone that surprised me. She didn’t smile or reach out her hand; she just stared at me.
“Oh, okay, hi Pam. It’s good to see you again,” I said. “How have you?”
“Please don’t try and make small talk. Where are the boys?”
“Excuse me?” I stammered. “You mean my boys?”
“My grandsons, you mean?”
My heart dropped into my stomach. I thought I might throw up on Pam’s shoes right there in front of an end cap filled with Frosted Flakes.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I know all about the lie you and Tessa put together to keep my grandsons from me.” Her voice wavered, and there were tears in the woman’s eyes. She pointed a finger directly at me, causing me to step back and nearly knock over a display of marshmallows. I steadied myself and somehow managed to say a complete sentence.
“Pam, you need to talk to Tessa about her choice to put the boys up for adoption. That was not my decision to make.”
“She told me you were struggling to conceive, that you’re infertile. You used that to guilt trip her, didn’t you?”
“What?” I squeaked, shocked. “No, that’s not— Listen, I don’t have to take this,” I said, raising my voice higher than I would have liked, causing people in the store to turn and look at me. I tried to turn down the baby food aisle, but Pam blocked my way with her cart.
“You really thought you’d get away with this too, didn’t you? But this is a small town, Alexandra. People talk. You can’t steal my grandbabies from me and expect me not to find out or do something about this.”
“I didn’t steal anyone,” I said through clenched teeth. “I adopted them because Tessa wasn’t interested in being a mother.”
“Well, clearly she has no intention of doing the right thing, but trust me, I plan to do whatever it takes to get my boys back where they belong - with their family.”
She stomped off, pushing the cart rapidly in front of her. I stood in the aisle in shock, feeling sick and dizzy.
“I have rights. I adopted them legally, and they are my sons,” I yelled after her, but she didn’t hear me over the announcement about a spill on aisle four.
Even though I knew there was nothing - absolutely nothing - she could do, her threats didn’t sit easy with me. I couldn’t breathe and my breakfast was threatening to make an appearance on the floor of the store. I pushed my cart down the aisle, hurrying toward the bathroom. I had to pass the pharmacy and paused - briefly - in front of the pregnancy tests.
No, there’s no way. Your doctor said it was highly unlikely you would ever be able to conceive naturally.
But my period was late.
And I was sick to my stomach.
Was it stress? Probably.
Don’t get your hopes up, Alex.
I tossed a package of two into my cart just in case. Better safe than sorry, I told myself.
I had to get to the bathroom. I left the cart outside as I rushed inside and threw up my breakfast, instantly regretting having eaten anything at all.
As soon as I finished vomiting up my guts, I cleaned myself up and typed a message to my lawyer just to be safe.
Is there any chance that Tessa’s mother could sue me for rights to my sons?
I didn’t think so, but again, better to be safe than sorry.
Chapter 19
Liam
“Those girls love you,” Mike said with a smile.
I was on the floor with Abby, helping her build a tower that her sister inevitably would knock down. Emma was stacking her own blocks but couldn’t keep her hands from trying to steal some from her sister’s tower, but surprisingly, both girls were giggling and having fun. No fighting. No tears. All laughter, and some of that laughter was my own.
“Well, I love them too,” I replied, ruffling Abby’s red curls. “They’re something else. I mean, who knew that I, of all people, would be able to take care of two little lasses and actually enjoy it?”
“I know the feeling,” Mike said, drinking from his beer.
I realized that even though Mike was drinking, I hadn’t had a drink in weeks. I had a Coke nearby, which Abby kept stealing sips from. A big reason I didn’t drink beer. Anything I had, the girls wanted a taste. That and I wanted to be sober when I was around them.
“You’ve got a horde yourself,”
I laughed, thinking of Mike’s growing family. “Do you ever miss your younger days?”
Mike, like me, had lived a fairly wild life. He’d been a partier. He was into racing and cars and had lived a life that many would consider crazy. I admired the hell out of him for it, and it had surprised me - along with everyone else - when he’d settled down and started having wee ones.
Mike seemed to think over the question, then shook his head. “Nah. Not one little bit. By the time I asked Michelle to marry me, I was done with the old life, and I knew that she was the one for me. I’d never thought about wanting kids before she came along but seeing how she was with kids—” He shook his head and smiled. “Well, I had to admit, it was hot as hell. Suddenly I wanted to put a baby in her, and the rest is history.”
Abby handed me a big, blue block and I placed it on top of the pile. She followed it with a red one.
“Man, I remember when you told us you were getting hitched. Clark about lost his shit.”
“Clark doesn’t get it. One day he will.”
“You think so?” I asked.
“Yeah, I do. I think he has a lot of growing up to do, but he’s getting there,” Mike said, a grin on his face. “And so will you.”
“Heck no,” I said, careful not to swear in front of Abby. I’d slipped up a lot in the early days and learned my lesson when she repeated the swear word back to me, saying it over and over again as I tried not to laugh.
I looked down at the block tower just as Emma reached over and knocked it all down. Abby said, “Heck nooooo!” but it was too late. The tower fell to the floor with Emma giggling like a mad woman. Abby sighed dramatically as she started gathering the blocks.
Proof that I was wise to watch my language though.
I tried to stifle my laughter, and Mike was laughing out loud.
“You’re thinking of keeping them, aren’t you?” he asked, taking me by surprise.
“Honestly…” I smiled as I looked at them, then at him. “Yes. Is that surprising?”
He shook his head. “Not really.”
