Page 113 of Beyond the Badge: Crew

“Because she began to poison them against me. I was the bad parent. I had deserted them because of my job and with the divorce, I was deserting them permanently.”

“Damn.”

“Right. She told them I loved my work more than them.”

“Was that true?”

“I love my kids more than anything. They can hate me, call me all kinds of shit, refuse to see me and I’ll still love them until the day I die.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He pulled in a long breath, when he released it, he continued, sadness coloring his tone, “It’s better now. I’ve been making some headway with them. But sometimes I feel like it’s a losing battle. I get a few steps forward when they’re with me. They get to see who I really am and how much I love them, but when they go back to Sasha, she works hard to take that progress away.”

“Why is she like that?”

“I don’t know. When I met her, I thought she was the woman of my dreams. She checked all the boxes and I thought we were perfect together. She ended up being a nightmare. I’m more pissed at myself for not seeing who she was at her very core.”

“Have you tried to get custody?”

He pulled in another long breath. “I seriously considered it, but I don’t want them hating me more than they already do by taking them away from their mother. I’m hoping the older they get, the more they’ll see the truth with their own eyes instead of through Sasha’s.”

“Why do parents do that? Turn their kids against the other parent? It’s self-centered.”

“I could understand one parent keeping a kid away if the other parent is abusive or a bad influence. But to me, it’s a crime to destroy a kid’s relationship with a parent. Especially one who wants to be actively involved in their lives.”

She didn’t know how to take away that pain, so she repeated, “I’m sorry.”

“I deal with it.”

“But not well.”

“I deal with it,” he repeated.

“So, you have your kids this weekend. Did you make plans?”

“I plan on taking them into the Burgh. I got us tickets to a Pirates game, then I’ll take them to Primanti Brothers for dinner.”

“They’re both into sports?”

“Dylan loves baseball.”

“And Chloé?”

He huffed out, “She’ll be on her phone more than watching the game.”

“But what’s she into?”

“She loves to dance. She even takes classes with Finn’s mom.”

“Finn’s mom teaches dance?”

“She’s had her own studio for decades.”

“What kind of dancing is your daughter into?”

She finally saw a slight upward curve of his mouth. Proof he loved his kids and was proud of them.

“All of it. She’s constantly watching YouTube videos to learn new routines. She’s really good.”

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