Page 48 of Missing Marcus

“I’m returning to finalize the sale of the house. I accepted a cash offer,” he explained as he placed the pan in the oven.

Gabby glanced down and pulled her phone from her sweater pocket. “I spoke with a lawyer this afternoon to figure out guidelines concerning child custody. I want primary custody and I’m willing to work out holidays and visitations. I plan to breastfeed, which isn’t something we discussed. It usually takes the baby a bit to get adjusted, and I want to ensure I have enough milkto freeze for you on days you take the baby. Do you know how much time you want to spend with the baby?”

He gripped the counter before turning to meet her gaze. “I haven’t given it any thought. We agreed to work it out.”

Gabby swallowed and licked her lips. She didn’t want to start an argument. “I still do,” she reassured him. “The attorney gave me a list of questions to consider and I thought we might go through them together.”

“You needed a lawyer to give you a list of things to check off the baby’s needs?” he asked angrily.

She shook her head. “No. I only want to make this as painless as possible. I found a ton of things I didn’t think about. For example, when I go into labor, when do I notify you? Do you want to come to the hospital when the baby’s born? Then, we must consider when you want to visit while the baby and I adjust?—”

Knight hit his fists on the counter, making her jump.

“Do you even have to ask whether I’ll be at the hospital when the baby’s born?” he demanded.

“Of course, we’ll request a DNA test, to settle any doubts you may have,” she assured him.

He hung his head before responding. “I don’t want to discuss our baby right now. I want to talk about us.”

Gabby’s hands moved to her lap and her head remained down. “What do you want to know?”

“You’ve known about this baby for months. When did you plan to tell me?” he asked.

“I don’t know. You made it clear you didn’t want to talk to me. I hoped Bryanna might act as a mediator between us. You know how that worked out,” she explained.

“You lived in a dump in a bad neighborhood. For Pete’s sake, Gabrielle, you slept on an air mattress. You put this child in jeopardy,” he whispered. “All because you hid it from me.”

Gabby’s spine straightened as she slowly slid from her stool. She poked at his chest with her finger. “I tried telling you. You didn’t give me a chance. Don’t judge me when you sat in the lawyer’s office and demanded everything to hurt me. You left me with a car payment, plus insurance, after I paid off your truck. It forced me to sell the car to make the move. Where were you when I took public transportation to work? I’ll tell you. You sat in the house I made into our home. I put my blood, sweat and tears into it and you took everything,” she gritted out.

Knight pulled her into his arms. “I know. I did everything you said,” he calmly agreed. “We can’t get you worked up. Sorry doesn’t cover what I did to you.”

She pushed him back with all her strength, afraid to give in to the sorrow she heard in his voice. “No. Apologies won’t change what happened to us. We need to move forward. I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I don’t either. What can I say or do to make you understand I made a mistake? A colossal one and I don’t know how to undo it.”

“The mistake cost me everything. I didn’t care about the house, the car, or the money. I wanted you, Marcus, and it’s the one thing you refused to give me. I can forgive my birthday, the missed anniversary, and missing my graduation ceremonies if you only gave me some sign of hope. At least explain why you left me way before my alleged infidelity. Because the man I married trusted me or at least I thought he did. You continue to surprise me. You stand there berating me about putting my child in jeopardy while you made sure I left our marriage with nothing.”

Gabby swayed and Knight swooped her into his arms. He headed down the hallway to her bedroom and laid her on the bed. “Calm down, Gabby. Think about the baby. I know you have every reason to feel upset. I don’t want to cause you or the baby any more harm.”

He went into her bathroom and brought back a cool cloth and pressed it against her face. Gabby kept her eyes closed as she concentrated on breathing. The timer went off on the stove and he placed the cloth on her forehead before returning to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Knight stood in the doorway. “I called Bryanna to come here. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay when I upset you. I left your things in the living room. I’ll call and check on you. My sister and Saint will care for you while I’m gone. When I return, hopefully we’ll have cooler heads to discuss things more clearly.” He turned and walked away like all the other times, but this time, she didn’t care.

27

Knight accepted the check and scrawled his name across the endless mountain of paperwork at the title company. His flight left early the following day, and he visited the bar where his former teammates typically hung out. He scanned the area and frowned when he didn’t see them. Checking his watch, he arrived a bit earlier than usual, he settled on a stool and ordered a beer.

An hour later, he noticed his old team filing in. Zepher led the group of men and they took a round booth in the corner. Mustering up the courage to make things right, he approached the group. When they noticed him, he saw the grim expressions on their faces.

“Zepher,” Knight nodded to his former teammate and then to the rest of the men. “I wanted to come by and let you know I considered my time on your team an honor. I deeply regret my actions and words on the last few missions. I want to personally apologize to each of youand wish you well.”

Zepher stood and shook Knight’s hand. Then another teammate extended his and the rest followed. A slight sense of peace filled the empty space in his chest as he turned and walked away. He made his way out to the parking lot when he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Knight. Wait up,” Abe called.

Knight smiled as he saw Abe, Alabama, Wolf and Caroline cross the parking lot.

“When did you get back in town?” Abe shook his hand.

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