Speaking of taking care of myself, I should be hearing back soon about my qualifications for the new medication. Shame how long it takes. But at least the place has financial assistance since the drugs are new and no one’s insurance will cover them yet.
I scroll through a couple of websites that list work-from-home jobs that offer medical benefits and click open tabs to a couple of companies that catch my eye. Most offer minimum wage but the bonuses like paid training and retirement benefits are definitely a plus.
Just as I complete the seventh application, the doorbell rings. After closing my laptop and placing it on the coffee table, I stand and make my way up the stairs to the front door. The boys are supposed to be here for another hour or so before Lucas gets home to drive them back to their respective households, and I’m not expecting anyone. Maybe my husband ordered something in the mail? I hope it’s not someone selling something.
When I pull open the door, I’m met with a woman who is about my height. She looks a bit more athletic than I am, wearing skinny jeans and a red silk shirt. Her black hair cascades over her shoulders, sunglasses sitting on top of her head. The woman’s eyes go wide as she takes me in, her mouth pinching together.
Her picture didn’t do her justice.
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ears before hugging myself and wishing I’d gotten dressed. Ugh, definitely don’t feel like a sexy kitten compared to Lucas’s ex-wife. She’s gorgeous and glamorous. And this is definitely not the first impression I intended to make. “Hi.”
“I’m Mason’s mother. Is Lucas home? He should have told me if he couldn’t watch the boys. I would have been here sooner. He didn’t need to hire a babysitter. Kinda defeats the damn purpose of spending time with his son.” The woman sucks in a breath and places her fingertips to her lips. “I’m so sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just my son was looking forward to spending time with his father.”
Biting my lip, I scratch the side of my head. Babysitter? Oh, maybe she’d never seen a picture of me. And the way I’m dressed, I could see why she might think that. Could this be any more awkward? “Actually, I’m Lucas’s wife. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. Lucas got a call that he had to go to the base right after he brought the boys over, but he said he’d be back in time to drive them home.”
The woman stares, unblinking. Then a myriad of expressions crosses her face. Oh, crap. She doesn’t know. Seriously, freaking awkward. And why the hell didn’t Lucas talk to her? I mean, how didn’t she know? Mason surely would have said something, wouldn’t he? Unless my husband told his son not to mention it.
Was I some dirty little secret? No. That doesn’t make sense. Two of his friends went through the same program, so there wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. Yet, he didn’t tell them at first and he clearly didn’t tell his ex. I have no idea how to explain it to a former spouse as I have never been married. Why on earth hasn’t he told her?
I clear my throat, hoping to break the trance Mason’s mom appears to be stuck in. “Do you want me to go get the boys for you? Are you taking Parker home too?”
“Oh, um, yes. That would be great. And my name is Lisa.”
“Riley.” I push the storm door open so Lisa can come inside. “I’ll be right back.”
When the boys and I return, Lisa has their jackets ready and appears to be in a rush. Her tone is clipped with every answer she offers her son, and she is almost shoving him into his jacket, yet occasionally looking at me as if trying to get as far away from me as possible.
Not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
Okay, time to try to clear some of the tension. “The boys had lunch and we had some pretzels. They were well-behaved and played video games.”
“I’m sure they did.”
I’d have to be halfway across the world to miss the sarcastic tone she answered in. What was this woman’s problem? I step forward. “Did I do something to offend you?”
“No, we’re just in a rush.” Lisa ushers the boys out the door, both Parker and Mason stopping for a second to turn and wave bye.
Once they are in the car and Lisa pulls out of the driveway, I shut the front door and lean against it. Well, that . . . wasn’t fun. Maybe she felt threatened?
But how am I supposed to act? What am I supposed to do? One thing’s for sure. The program didn’t prepare me for how to handle an ex-wife who was the mother of my spouse’s son and hadn’t been told that I even existed.
Maybe signing up for this program wasn’t such a great idea.
Chapter Seven
Lucas
“You’re married?” Lisa’s voice booms into the truck. “When the hell did that happen, Lucas?”
“Uh . . .” I can’t quite get words to form. I look over at Bear in the passenger seat, who has closed his eyes and is shaking his giant head.
“Lucas?” Lisa prompts.
“Almost two weeks ago,” I manage to say, but she’s not really listening.
“You realize I showed up to pick up Mason and spoke to her like she was the babysitter.”
“Why were you picking up Mason anyway? I was going to take him and Parker home. That’s what we agreed on. Planned on having the whole ‘I’m married’ conversation when I got to your house. Today’s the first day our schedules actually lined up and it wasn’t news I felt was appropriate to text. A face-to-face was the most respectful way to tell you.” If she’d stuck to the plan, none of this would have happened.
“I was trying to do you a favor by not making you drive all the way over to my new place.”
Helluva favor. “Well, you shoulda told me instead of just showing up.”
“Lucas, do you really think that that’s the issue here? That I picked up Mason instead of waiting for you to bring him home?”
I latch on to the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. Why did Lisa have to change the schedule without updating me? It was my job to inform my ex-wife I’d remarried. Not Riley’s. But damn if anything ever goes my way.
“And I take it Mason knew already which means you told him to keep something from me. Do you not see that as a problem? And Riley? Is this the same Riley, the girl from high school who dropped you like an old pair of shoes that went out of style?” Lisa’s voice rose in pitch with each word.
Bear remained quiet and stared out the window. He’d always liked Lisa. Most of the team did. She was normally easygoing. They’d all understood when she’d asked for a divorce. It was part of our lives. Marriages tended to fail. But we all remained friends. She was even at Jim’s wedding with her now fiancé.
“Lisa, I barely had time to talk to the guys about it.” I let out a long breath. “And it’s not like I got to choose who I was assigned to. A committee made the choice.”
“Why did you even sign up for some stupid program like that?”
“Because it worked for Jim and for Tony. I thought it might work for me. What? I can’t be happy? Find someone who can handle my life?” I wanted to kick myself the moment the words left my mouth.
For the first time during our twenty-minute drive, Bear turned toward me, his eyes narrowed to mere slits. I swear in that moment, he might as well have been Lisa’s father with the way he appeared to want to beat the shit out of me. Not that I blame him. That last part was a low blow.
“I’m sorry, Lisa. I didn’t mean—”
“Lucas, I get it. The life is hard, and you wanted someone this time who could handle it. But Riley? After everything you told me, after everything you shared with me about how she made you feel?”
“Lisa, it’s honestly none of your business.”
“Except my son visits your home. And you left her alone with him. What if she flaked out with him? That is not happening on my watch.”
I grind my molars. Lisa is overreacting. Nothing had happened. There was eating and video game playing, and not some inappropriate game either. Leaving Mason with Riley is far better than leaving him with Martinez. Yet, Lisa has never minded when my best frie
nd had watched our son. Not even when Mason came home asking if girls in real life danced in their underwear on a table, thanks to some stupid movie he’d watched with Martinez.
“I got a lawyer. With the move and me getting married, I wasn’t sure if there’d be any issues. But things have changed, and I want full custody of Mason.” Lisa’s words echo through the car.
My heart stops and I can’t suck any air into my lungs. Luckily, we had just arrived at Bear’s house and I pulled the car over, throwing it into “park” because the darkness at the corner of my eyes is growing larger. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I said I am going to push for full custody of our son.”
“Why? Because I married Riley? You don’t get to approve who I marry. I certainly didn’t give you any shit when you started dating or when you got engaged. Or even when you decided to move the fuck away.”
“Lucas, I am all of thirty minutes from you. And Riley isn’t Mason’s parent. You are. What is the point of him being there if you are going to be at work and she’s babysitting him? You’re the one he wants the relationship with.”
I turn to Bear, who sits quietly in the seat. He could have already gotten out. But we are brothers, there to support one another through thick and thin. Plus, he has two daughters. He’s who I turn to when I question whether or not I’m a good father. Or when I become afraid that my job might ruin my child. Which is way more often than I’d like.
I swallow past the freaking large lump in my throat. “Fine. Well, looks like I’ll be hiring a lawyer too.”
I disconnect the call before Lisa can say another word.
Bear grunts. “Shit’s going to get ugly, brotha. I’m here for you. But one thing. She’s right. Mason needs you to be there when you can. Don’t force Riley on him. Won’t turn out good for anyone.”
I nod because I have no words. I’d just gotten blindsided like a hapless quarterback who’d been taken down hard by Lawrence Taylor. Bear pats my shoulder and exits my truck. I take a few minutes after he leaves to collect myself. My heart races, the pressure in my neck and temples grows. Great. All I need now is to let the stress get so out of control that I have a heart attack.
Burning rage hisses through my body like deathly poison, screeching a demanded release. Like a volcano erupting, the wrath sweeps off me in ferocious waves. But I’m in my truck and the only outlet I have is slamming my steering wheel over and over.
Never in a million years did I think marrying my high school sweetheart would lead my ex-wife to try to take my son away from me. After everything we went through. After the gunshot wounds, our friend dying, other funerals. After all of it, Lisa never once mentioned Mason was better off without me.
“How things fucking change.” The words have the maximum amount of vitriol I can expend.
By the time I get home, my anger hasn’t abated. Instead, anxiety joins the damn party because now I have to find a lawyer and I have no idea where to even begin. What if I hire someone inept? This fucking day needs to be over.
I walk into the house through the garage entrance and find Riley all curled up on the couch in pajama pants and cozy socks, watching TV. My hand tightens around the door handle and my anger becomes impossible to keep at bay. “Is this what you did all day? Did you just ignore my son to watch TV?”
Riley sits up, eyes blinking. She even looks a bit pale, like she had the day we moved her out of the apartment she’d been living in. Her eyes narrow, but then she just leans back into the couch as if she doesn’t have the energy to say what is really on her mind. “We had lunch. We talked. Mason and Parker even attempted to show me how to play their video game.”
I shove the door closed. Hard. Then kick off my boots and stalk into the room. “Then why is Lisa pushing for full custody?”
“I’m so sorry, Luc.” She frowns. “It might have helped if she’d known I was here and we got married. Can’t imagine what it was like for her to show up and find me.”
She’s right. No way around that. I pace back and forth. I rake my hands through my hair, nails digging into my scalp. “Fuck my life.”
“We’ll get through this. Mason adores you. You should see how his face lights up when he talks about you.”
I close my eyes and when I open them, I turn to Riley. Hell. Pale didn’t describe her color. It’s worse than that. She doesn’t look well at all. And here I am unloading on her for a situation I created. I take a few steps toward the couch and sit. “Are you okay?”
Riley’s gaze shifts from me back to the TV show.
“Riley, are you okay?”
She looks at the pillow and lies back down, curling into a ball. “Yeah, just something I ate. Anyway, don’t you have a custody agreement with Lisa?”
I hesitate for a moment. Riley’s trying to divert. Or at least minimizing how she feels for my sake. I study her for another moment, the way she hugs her stomach slightly, the tightening of her jaw. Well, she’s definitely having some stomach issues. Maybe I’ll make her some soup later.
“Lucas?”
I clear my throat. “No. We never had anything official. After she moved out, she didn’t live far. Only five minutes away. Mason remained in the same school, had the same friends. But then she started dating and when she got engaged, she moved, and moved Mason with her.”
“So, she hired a lawyer today? Because of me?”
I shake my head. “Appears she had one.”
Riley blows out a loud breath. “Maybe she’s been looking to get full custody for a while. Could be because of her soon-to-be husband.”
“Full custody isn’t an option for me. Not with my job.” I drop by head back onto the couch and stare at the ceiling. I joined the program hoping it would work, hoping marrying Riley would somehow help my son. Instead, it might wreck it all. “Maybe I should talk to the committee about annulling the marriage and dropping out of the program.”
Riley goes very still. “I don’t think you getting married is the issue.”
I groan. “You’re probably right. Lisa was always complaining about my job constantly getting in the way when it came to Mason, so maybe I’m just screwed either way. Today just being another example.”
Riley shifts and leans the throw pillow against my leg, then rests her head on it. “It’ll work out. Maybe she’s just upset you didn’t give her the heads-up. With Mason having a hard time, she might be concerned another change might not be good for him. Talk to her.”
She could be right. Riley hasn’t had the opportunity to show Lisa that she can be a positive in Mason’s life. And if my wife is this under the weather and still managed to take care of both Mason and Parker, there is nothing for Lisa to fear. They all need time to get used to one another.
Riley looks up at me. “Lucas, look, we are exes. We had a relationship years ago and there’s no reason we couldn’t work on rebuilding that bond, which, in turn, will help Mason feel more secure. We just have to convince Lisa the program works, and we offer a great home for your son.”
“I’ll hold off on talking to the committee. Let me get a lawyer first and see what they say.” I brush her hair back. Her skin feels warm to the touch, and I bend over to place a soft kiss on her cheek. “Thank you.”
Maybe she’s right about everything. Rekindling love isn’t unheard of. It’s been done before. And it would be nice for everything to work out in the end. The way it should have the first time.
Maybe fate really is giving us a second chance.
Chapter Eight
Riley
Stalls, booths, and various rides fill the giant grassy field. Some people wander around, popcorn or skewered meat in hand, as they play carnival games such as balloon pops, ring toss, and racing games. Others stand in long lines for rides. Lucas, however, remains quiet by my side, walking in a daze. I’d talked him into coming to the carnival, thinking it might take his mind off his troubles. Instead, it seems to have made him sink deeper into his funk.
I take his hand in mine. �
��What did the lawyer say?”
Lucas sighs heavily, his shoulders slumping. “Was an introductory meeting. Courts tend to side with the mother, and while he will try to get me a fair visitation schedule, if Lisa wants to follow it verbatim, there won’t be much I can do about it. With my job, she’d most likely get full custody. Not that it would be any different than what she unofficially has now.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, brows furrowed. So what really is changing then? “Is it the visitation that bothers you? Do you think she wouldn’t be flexible?”
He rakes his fingers through his blond hair. “She seemed really pissed. Never seen her like this. But with my job, if she isn’t flexible, I’m worried I won’t get to see Mason at all.”
I squeeze his hand. “All we can do is the best we can with what we can control.” That was one of the lessons I’d learned from being sick—to focus on what I can do, not what I wish I could do.
A couple of small children run past us carrying oversized stuffed animals, their faces painted with various designs. Ahead of us is a big canvas tent, the familiar smell of livestock emanating from within it. Most likely a petting zoo.
Lucas tugs me toward the row of food trailers to the left. Everything from chocolate-covered bacon to corn dogs to fried Oreos is being sold. All things I can’t or shouldn’t eat. Lucas stops at one of the carts. “Can I get two funnel cakes?”
I bite my lip and glance around to see the menu. There’s something I can eat. Thank God. “Actually, I’ll just take an unsalted pretzel.”
Lucas turns to me, eyebrow quirked. “Really?”
I wave a dismissive hand in the air. “Yeah, they never taste as good elsewhere as they do at a carnival. Even when I’ve gotten the frozen ones at the supermarket, they never come out right. And I’ve been craving one.”
“Okay, then. I’ll take one funnel cake and one pretzel.” Lucas pays and after we receive our food, we head over to some hay bales next to the ring toss and sit.
Assigned (Navy Seals of Little Creek Book 3) Page 7
