Page 117 of Push

Toby cocked his head. “Yeah?”

“We should also name Gwen and your son on the order. It’s a quicker process than criminal charges. We can probably get you on the next court listing. It’ll take a week, tops. Kayleigh won’t be able to come near you or your family. If she does, we can arrest her for breaching the order.”

“Do it.” Toby’s voice was firm. “I want Gwen and Noah to be safe.”

“And you, too.” Wayne’s expression was grave. “Don’t downplay what’s happening. It might seem like a few notes and a couple of photos, but people who act like this can be unpredictable. They can escalate. Take this seriously. Don’t engage with Kayleigh.” Wayne reached across the desk to pass Toby a business card. “If she approaches you, report her right away.”

Toby’s hand shook when he accepted the card.

Reality had finally knocked some sense into him. This wasn’t TV. It wasn’t a game. The decisions he’d made had consequences—and not just for him.

37

He Found a Father

Toby

The grass was perfect.

Perfect.

Zach’s parents had a place in the outer suburbs, an older-style brick, but it was as neat as a pin. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the manicured lawn as I walked from the car, along their driveway, and up the front stairs.

Heaven.

I knocked on the screen door, and footsteps thundered inside before it swung open.

“Thanks for coming,” Zach panted, his cheeks creasing with a smile. “Sorry about the last-minute venue change.”

Zach could’ve changed the venue of our catch-up to Antarctica, and I still would’ve rocked up. What a morning—the police station and then the silent war zone raging in the car when I’d dropped Gwen off at work. I needed the distraction.

“Everything okay?” I asked him.

Zach waved off my worries. “Josie’s three going on thirty, remember? She informed me this morning she neededto play House Ladieswith Nana today.”

“House…Ladies?”

“Nana and Josie look after their babies, cook, and clean. There’s been a failed lesson about laundry. Oh, and I’ll warn you—the tiny terror oversees the menu.” He grinned. “I hope you like fajitas.”

I laughed. “Your ladies have good taste.”

I trailed behind Zach as he led me through his parents’ house. This place was nothing like the show home I’d grown up in. I gaped at the well-loved but cozy furniture and family photos crowding the rooms as we passed on our way to the kitchen.

Josie was there. Her dark hair curled in two pigtails, and wearing red dungarees stretched over her jutting belly, she stood on a step stool, watching, fascinated, as Zach’s mother sliced a bell pepper into strips. An upside-down baby doll, completely nudie rudie, dangled at Josie’s side, held fast by the arm she’d crooked around the poor thing’s neck.

“Look who’s here!” Zach said.

Josie grinned, but Maree Rawles—yikes, she didnotlike me. Her lips pursed when Zach announced my arrival, and when she lifted her gaze from the chopping board to pin me across the room, her eyes narrowed behind the purple glasses perched low on her nose.

I’d seen that same look at Alfie’s birthday party. We’d had a brief introduction full of pleasantries about the weather. Awkward.

I forced a smile, desperate for her to like me. “It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Rawles.”

Maree’s lips pressed into a flat line. Zach coughed. Her eyes darted to him, and he put his hand on his hip, a pointed lookthrown in her direction. Words had been exchanged before I’d arrived.

“Good morning, Toby.” Maree’s voice was clipped. “How was the drive?”

“Uh, quick. The traffic was good.” I fidgeted with my belt loop. Could there be a more awkward conversation? I tried out a smile on Josie instead. “Hey, JoJo.” I nodded at her baby doll. “Who do you have there?”

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