Page 15 of The Comeback Road
“Momma said I get to hang out here today while she works instead of Grandma’s since she has a doctor’s appointment,” she said, reaching for the plate of food Magnolia had placed in front of her.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she said quietly to me.
“No, I could use the company today. Maybe, after breakfast, we can go to the park. How does that sound?”
I was met with Raya’s squeals of excitement, and once again found myself smiling despite the heavy weight that seemed to have settled inside my chest.
“Okay, well, I better take off. It’s my day to work at the vet clinic. I’ll shoot you a message when I’m on my way to pick her up.” She nodded at Magnolia, and I stopped her before she could make her way out the door, grabbing a pad of paper from the junk drawer. Using a pen, I scribbled my number down quickly. “Here, take mine also. Magnolia tends to forget she has a cellphone.” I shot my friend a pointed look, and she at least had the decency to look guilty.
“Great, thanks. Raya, be good, you hear?”
“You got it,” she said, shoveling a handful of bacon into her mouth.
Remi made her way out, and Magnolia looked at me over the counter. “Sorry, I told her last week that I would, and that was before…” She trailed off, not wanting to bring him up in the easiness of the morning.
“Really, babes, it’s fine. A bit of outside sunshine over lunch will do us some good, but until then…I think we need to build a fort in the living room to protect ourselves from the dragons.” I attempted to roar out the worddragons, but I only ended up choking on my own spit, causing the entire room to erupt into laughter. I was thankful I could sit there and fake my way through the pain I was feeling. That it could go undetected by those around me. It was what would save me, in the end.
Raya squealed as she took off toward the living room. Even though I kept my eyes on her, I could feel Magnolia watching. “I’m still trying to wrap my brain around you with kids, Lex. You’re a natural.” she questioned me.
I shrugged. “She makes it easy.” I didn’t need to tell her that I loved kids, loved them so much, but I’d made up my mind a long time ago that kids probably weren’t in my future. Not after what my dad did to my mom and I. How could I? Heck, I hadn’t even thought about marriage until…
“Tonight, we can make a plan. Maybe we can take a vacation…a few weeks…” I heard her start talking to herself, planning, and I had to hold in my flinch. I had a feeling, by her words, that Magnolia thought I’d be leaving temporarily. But I was thinking something a bit more long-term…more work-related. And off the grid, if possible.
“Lexie!!!!” Raya’s half scream from the other room kicked me into gear. I followed the laughter that did its best to warm up the hollow feeling that was doing everything it could to consume me.
Chapter Thirteen
Lexie
How do kids have so much energy?And why have we not figured out how to bottle it up and sell it?I thought as I chugged from the to-go cup of coffee I brought with me as Raya —literally—ran in circles around me as we walked to the park. “Kid, you’re making me dizzy.” She ignored me and kept running around and ahead of me, making it look like she was herding me to the park.
Once we made it there, Raya tore off without a backward glance in my direction. I made myself comfy on the bench, my cell phone buzzing with an incoming text message.
Luke:Marco.
I frowned. That meant he needed to talk to me, and soon, but there was no way I was going to distract myself from watching Raya. Especially after what had happened to Magnolia. There was danger lurking in even the safest of towns.
“Raya!” I heard a loud, commanding voice from somewhere that had my head snapping to find the owner. There was something behind that tone—something that made my insides curdle.
My eyes found him quickly as his movements were bulky, loud—those of someone who wanted to be seenandheard. Butwhat had my hackles rising and my body kicking into gear was that he was making a beeline toward Raya, who had stopped swinging. Her face was a shade paler than it had been a few seconds before.Hell no.I was fast, and I made it to Raya at the same time the man did. I promptly inserted myself between them, and recognition took over. I hadn’t noticed it before because he had his back on me and was in a suit.Lance.
“You,” he half snarled in my face. “What are you doing with my kid? Where’s your mom?” He moved his eyes from me to Raya, and I did not like what I saw when he took her in. It had me stepping closer to him even more just to create as much distance as possible between the two.
“She’s at work. Princess Lexie is…” she mumbled at the ground, her voice trailing off as Lance talked over her.
“Look at me when you’re talking to me, girl.” He once again tried to step closer to Raya, and I knew I was right the first time I met him. Everything in me screamed that Lance wasn’t a good guy, that he was someone one stayed far,faraway from if they could. I immediately brought my hand up and gave him a light shove on his chest, trying very politely to let Lance know that he was getting entirely too close for my liking.
The action caused his angry glance to go from Raya to me. No one was going to treat Raya like he was, let alone look at her like that. I didn’t give two fucks if he was her dad. “Listen here, that’smykid.” He pointed his finger in my face, and I was two seconds away from breaking it. “That’s funny. I’ve never heard her mention you. Not once.” He didn’t need to know that Raya and I werenewfriends.
It didn’t take a genius to realize there was a reason Remi called others to watch Raya. There was a reason Lance wasn’t talked about, not even mentioned in passing. And, of course, there was Raya’s immediate reaction to him. Lance didn’t seem to care that we were very much in public because hestepped back up to me anyway, towering over me, crowding me, expecting me to back down. But he was in for a nasty surprise if he tried anything. While my combat training and tactical training were all but zero, I’d been extensively trained in self-defense and hand-to-hand combat.I wish he would try.
I saw the way Lance’s eyebrow ticked up in mild surprise when I met his hostility with my own. I had a feeling no other woman in his life had ever done that. With his surprise, I managed to completely shield Raya behind me. Lance was still sofuckingclose, and he noticed it. Smirking, I could see his plan before he acted. Lance tried to step around me to reach for her, but I used my right hand to shove Raya away from us. I planted my feet in a fighting stance, hunched down a bit, and slammed my left shoulder into Lance’s stomach, which had him faltering back at the force of it. While it wasn’t much, it was enough to give me enough space to prepare myself for an incoming attack.
His face was red in embarrassment, the sound he made sounded like a bull ready to attack. But before he could try anything else, we heard footsteps coming toward us. I refused to take my eyes off him.
“What the hell is going on here?” His voice felt like shards of ice raining down over me.Jace.I could see his head flicking back and forth between Lance and me. Once he realized I wasn’t going to move or answer him, Jace turned toward Lance. “Who are you?” he questioned. I could just make out his assessing gaze from my peripheral, and I saw mild recognition, just proving my earlier assessment that he wasn’t involved much, if at all, with Raya. Jace knew Remi well enough.
“That’s my kid,” Lance spat out at him, but the majority of his anger was aimed at me. I knew there was no way he was going to let that little encounter go, and I couldn’t help but smirk at him, the challenge accepted.Anytime.I was basically shouting at him without having to say anything, and if the grumblesemitting from his chest said anything, it was that he completely understood what I was trying to convey.
