Page 89 of Sneak Attack

“Kay. Tonight?”

“We’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re ready. Love you, Eden.”

I sniffed. “Love you too.”

I switched the calls and as soon as I said hello, Cole barked through the line. “What’s wrong? Is it Marley?”

“No.” I cried again. “It’s fine, I’m fine. I just talked to my mom.”

“Shit,” he cursed and apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I wasn’t expecting that, are you okay? I’d come see you, but…”

He had to get to work. I knew. But what I wouldn’t give for one of his hugs.

“It’s okay.” I sniffed again and did that stupid laugh. “How did Jasper do at school?”

“He was okay. Mrs. Griffith put him in charge of helping another kid get settled and he took to it. Was smiling and playing when we left.”

“Mrs. Griffith is still there?”

“Yeah. Surprised me, too, when I heard she was going to be his teacher.”

Dang. The woman was older than my own parents.

“And Selma?” I asked, although I didn’t want to. Nothing good ever came when she was brought up.

“Was great around Jasper, caused a scene in the parking lot when I left. Cussed me out and had people staring at her and thinks since I mentioned I have an appointment with a lawyer that I’m trying to steal Jasper from her so I can replace her with you.”

So many things wrong with that, I couldn’t begin to pick them apart. Stunned, all I could ask was, “What?”

“Exactly my thoughts, too. Honestly, Eden, I don’t know what’s gotten into her, and it can’t be all because of you. There’s something not right with how she’s acting, and it’s making me twitchy knowing Jasper is going to start spending so much more time there now that I’m traveling.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing you’re bringing lawyers into it, then.”

“Probably. Probably should have done it years ago, but we’d been fine.”

From what he said, that was a lie. She’d manipulated him for years, he’d just never cared enough to fight her, so he gave in.

“I’m sorry, Cole.”

“Me too. I want things to be easy for Jasper, and yeah, I know she’s thrown with you being in town, but it doesn’t change anything. Not for her, anyway.”

That’s where he was wrong, but I wasn’t going to point it out.

Until I returned to town, I’d bet my last penny in my savings that Selma was willing to play the long game when it came to Cole, perfectly content to sit around and allow the world to think they were together and maybe eventually they would be.

I’d strolled into town and blew her unrealistic fantasies to smithereens and now she knew she had no chance.

That was on her, completely, but that didn’t mean she’d go down without a fight for the dream she’d held on to for a decade.

Which meant even if Cole brought lawyers into the mix, things were about to get ugly and a lot harder before they got better.

* * *

“Talk go okay with your parents?”

Marley stepped out to the back patio where I decided to sit with a glass of wine once we got off the phone. I’d wanted a drink while I was still on the call with my parents but considering I hadn’t seen them in so long and the last time I did I wasn’t twenty-one, it hadn’t felt right.

But boy, was my glass of wine delicious right then.

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