Page 7 of Hello Tease

I setmy curling iron down and checked my phone again, hoping for a response from Seth.

Larkin: Emily misses you. Can you please make time to video call her today?

Three hours had passed since I sent the message and still nothing, and it was getting to be time to go to our neighbor’s house. I knew it would be harder for him to stay connected to the kids when I moved two hours away, but I didn’t know he would act like the kids were his last priority.

We’d been in this house for three days now, and nothing. No phone call, no texts. Emily cried for him every night before bed, and I had to make up excuses for him, saying he was busy working, that they would talk soon. It broke my heart for her every time and made me feel guilty that I chose him to be her father. I thought he was better than that.

Taking a breath to calm myself down, I left the bathroom to check on the kids. Jackson was hopping in his bouncer while Emily watched an episode ofPAW Patrol. They both seemed content, so I went back to the bathroom to put the finishing touches on my look, my hands shaking with nerves.

I normally kept my makeup simple and opted for a ponytail, but I wanted to make a good impression in this town. It may have been too late for Knox, but it wasn’t for his family. I was alone here, unless you counted Seth’s parents. But I always got the feeling from them that I was just the wife, the parent of their grandchildren, not a true part of their family. I wanted to have a real community for my children and me. Especially if Seth wasn’t going to be a constant for them.

I texted him again.

Larkin: We’re going to be busy for the next couple hours. Any chance you could talk with her now?

I looked at the screen, a read receipt coming up.

Hope fluttered in my chest. Not for me, but for Emily. She loved her daddy. But as the minutes passed, that hope fell away.

I might not be willing to talk shit about Seth out loud, but a million and one insults went through my mind. I didn’t understand how he could act like we were just out of sight, out of mind.

With a sigh, I set my phone down and looked at myself in the mirror, checking my appearance one last time. I’d gained so much weight during my pregnancy with Jackson. Hardly any of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit me, and I hadn’t bought a ton of nicer, newer clothes in the last year, hoping I could lose the weight. But it had been a year, and it didn’t look like the weight was going anywhere. And with my new job as a nurse, I’d spent most of my clothing budget on scrubs.

Today, I wore one of my nicer tops, olive green with short sleeves and buttons up the front to show a slight amount of cleavage. I stepped back to see my full outfit in the mirror. The shirt went well with some distressed jeans and leather sandals.

I was determined to be confident in myself for my daughter’s sake. I didn’t want her to grow up stressing about the insane physical judgment I had felt from my ex and from society.

I grabbed my phone from the vanity, tucked it in my back pocket, and went out to the living room to get the kids.

“Ready?” I asked Emily as I went to pick up Jackson. He fussed a bit as I pulled him out of his bouncer.

“I know, you could do that forever,” I said to him. Then I looked to Emily, who was still glued to the TV. I went and used the remote to turn it off, and she groaned at me.

“I asked if you were ready,” I said. “You didn’t say anything.”

“Can I talk to Daddy?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.

I hid my own disappointment and said, “No, we’re going to Knox’s house.”

She whined, “But I wanted to talk to Daddy.”

“I know you did, but he can’t right now,” I said. “Let’s focus on meeting our neighbors. Maybe you’ll make a new friend tonight.”

She nodded, pushing herself up from the chair. “Can I bring a toy?”

“Of course you can,” I replied.

She ran off to her room and came back carrying her Dallas Diamonds football.

“Are you sure you want to bring that ball?” I asked. “What if they’re not Diamonds fans?”

She held it tightly to her chest. “Who doesn’t like the Diamonds? Ford is the best quarterback in the league.” For being a little girl, she knew more about football than me. She and Seth watched the games every Sunday before the divorce, and he explained the ins and outs to her in a fun way that kept her invested.

This was one battle I did not think was worth the fight.

So I grabbed the diaper bag, and the three of us trekked around the sidewalk to the house next door. Unlike mine, this home had fresh paint, a lawn full of actual grass, and even a small bed of petunias up front. This man had to be some kind of special specimen to be a bachelor with such a nice-looking house.

I reached for the doorbell, but Emily screeched, “I want to ring it!”

---