Page 55 of Axe Backwards
My bastard of an ex ignored her. “And since I’m her ex-husband, it’s my duty to, you know, talk to you. Man to man.”
Suddenly, Noah’s easy, casual air vanished. He pulled himself up to his full height and his smile morphed into a glare.
Graham, clearly not reading the signals, continued. “She’s barren.”
“I’m not sure we use that word anymore,” Noah said flatly.
The arrogant fucker across from him shook his head. “Infertile. Whatever. I don’t know you or your circumstances, but you should know. She kept that from me. Deceived me.”
My body went hot, my limbs shaky. Bile rose up my throat.Deceived him?Was that what he thought?
I leaned against the wall, concerned my legs wouldn’t hold my weight. How could he say these things? To Noah, of all people?
I couldn’t see Noah’s face and I didn’t want to. I considered hopping over the chain-link fence next to the dumpster and making a run for it, but my damn feet wouldn’t move.
Instead, a hot vortex of shame pulled me in, weighed me down. I hadn’t been enough for Graham. I would never be enough for Noah.
“Dude. I’m holding my daughter right now,” Noah said. “So I am not going to punch you.”
My heart lurched.Huh?
I peered back around.
Noah’s face was pure fury, and Graham was eyeing him like he thought he might take a swing after all.
Tess whimpered, clearly upset. My heart clenched at the sound. It killed me that Graham was scaring her.
“But I want to make sure you understand that you deserve to lose a few teeth. Vic told me you were a cruel prick, but this is even worse than I could imagine. Don’t you ever, ever speak of her again. And if I ever hear the word barren come out of your mouth again, you’ll be drinking your meals through a straw.”
Graham took a step back and held up his hands. “I was trying to give you a heads-up. You seem like a family man. Don’t you think you should know that she can’t have kids? That she shouldn’t be around them?” He squinted at Tess, who glared right back at him. “She’s not maternal. Not mom material.”
Noah clenched his fists. “Victoria Randolph is the kindest, most generous person I’ve ever met. Every day, I watch her interact with my child, and love her the way she deserves to be loved. I know in my bones that she has the biggest, most beautiful heart. There is no one I trust more, and my daughter is damn lucky to have her in her life.”
“I’d watch out,” Graham said, chin lifted and defiant. “She’s paranoid and a bit crazy.”
My head spun. Of course he was calling me crazy. If he discredited me, made me look like I was unstable, then people couldn’t blame him for ending our marriage. That was his thought process. And everyone, including my parents, had bought it.
Noah took a step forward, raising a fist.
Graham brought an arm up to shield his face, but before Noah could speak again or throw a punch, Tess cried out.
And promptly projectile-vomited.
She spewed chunky blue bile directly onto Graham’s chest.
And not just once. When I thought she couldn’t possibly have anything left in her stomach, she did it again.
“What the fuck?” Graham screamed.
Several people stopped to gawk. One or two even stepped out of the coffee shop. Ricky, who was delivering mail to the businesses on Main Street, paused, and Becca stood in the doorway of her salon. Kara Mosely, who was pushing her baby in a stroller, cackled. Soon Noah was laughing too.
“That baby is a demon.” Graham spun and stormed down the street toward his car. “You and Victoria deserve each other,” he shouted over his shoulder.
The onlookers either gaped or laughed or tried to hide their smiles as he stomped off like a toddler.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The humiliation ran deep, but seeing Graham covered with blueberry baby vomit did help soothe the sting a bit.
Noah, who had switched back into cuddly dad mode, was softly rocking Tess and wiping her mouth with a baby wipe.
