Page 86 of Long Road Home

I stared at her, physical need urging me to wake her. But it was my desire to see to her emotions as well that forced me to roll out of bed and tug on my shorts from last night. She needed rest, because later, after we picked up Toby from Brooke’s, I wanted to take them to the city for the night. We’d get tickets to the Royals game, we could stroll the mall at The Plaza, and we’d spend the weekend, out of town, doing everything a family did.

She was giving me that shot to give that to her, and I was running out of time to convince her to stay.

The scattered boxes all over the house as I headed toward the kitchen, told me she still might be considering leaving since she was still in the throes of packing up all of Tillie’s old things.

I couldn’t let that happen. Irefusedto let that happen. I had my son and the only woman I’d ever loved with me, and damn it…I was keeping them.

Once I reached the kitchen, I ignored the packed boxes stacked inside the door that led to the backyard. I focused on the coffeepot, dumped a leftover pod from yesterday and dug through the drawer beneath her maker for a new one. If I knew Destiny as well as I believed I did, if the smell of coffee didn’t rouse her from sleep, the sizzle of bacon cooking would.

Grabbing the contents of breakfast from the fridge, my arms were loaded with bacon and eggs, a package of shredded cheese and orange juice and milk cartons in my hands. I shoved it all to the kitchen counter, haphazardly dumping all of it.

A stack of papers on the counter shifted, and one piece fluttered to the floor.

I ignored it in favor of coffee. Cooking half-asleep would end up with bacon grease burns on my chest.

Coffee done, I poured myself a cup, prepared a new pod and once I’d taken the first few sips, I bent down to grab the paper on the floor.

Flight confirmation

Two words. They jumped out at me like a rattlesnake, quick and painful, sinking lethal fangs into my flesh before I knew it was primed for an attack.

My eyes scanned the document, my body chilling as I read.

One-way.

Two people.

Footsteps approached, thundering loudly on the old wood floor.

My eyes lifted, my hand raised, and before I could filter out anything, take a second to think, said, “What the fuck?”

Twenty-Eight

Destiny

I should have said something.I shouldn’t have hidden it. My mistake was glaringly obvious from the waves of bubbling fury rolling off Jordan I felt while several feet separated us.

“I was going to tell you,” I said, stepping cautiously toward him.

His lips twisted. “Before you left this time?”

“Jordan—”

“You’releaving?Are you fucking kidding me? Swear to God—”

“I’m coming back.” My hands flew up, palms up. I had to calm him down. I didn’t want a fight. Not after last night. Not ever.

“In a decade?” He sneered. He was entitled to every ounce of his pain, but every barb he flung showed something else. He might have promised he’d be able to forgive me, but he hadn’t yet.

I’d earned that, but I wouldn’t tolerate much of it. I’d learned too much about myself over the last month, and one was that I didn’t have to be anyone’s punching bag.

“Take a minute and calm down. Let me speak.”

He waved the paper in the air, my flight confirmation crumpled in his hands. I’d only printed it so he had our information when we did fly out. And I should have told him. Last night. Yesterday. I shouldn’t have hidden it from him, but I wanted everything planned so I could answer all his questions before I went to him.

“You are not taking my kid from me, Destiny. There is no way in hell I’m allowing that shit to happen. Not again.”

“I’m not.” My hackles rose. The fierce protectiveness I had for Toby overshadowed my need to calm Jordan. “We’re coming back, Jordan. And I should have told you, but I wanted everything set in place.”

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