Page 65 of Every Single Wildflower
“Will you tell her I want to see my son,” he bellows.
“I ain't telling her shit. You gave up that right when you decided you didn’t have time for either of them. You aren’t even listed on the birth certificate.”
“This is bullshit,” he barks. “I want to speak to Laiken. Now.”
We meet up, toe to toe. “Best thing you can do is get off this property. You’re trespassing.”
“Fuck you, Maddox,” he spits. “I got a right.”
He moves quick, shoving me back a few steps. I react without another thought, throwing a solid punch that lands on his chin. He may be a prick, but he’s tough. He falters only a second before he swings at me, clipping me on the temple, causing me to stumble backwards. When I lose my balance, I slam into a body, and I hear Ivy’s painful cry behind my back.
Motherfucker.
Righting my feet, I whirl around to see her sliding down the front of the truck, clutching her back.
“Fuck!” I shout, crouching to grip her shoulders.
I ignore the chaos behind me, but I can faintly hear Laiken’s voice before the wail of police sirens grow closer.
“Baby, look at me.” I lift her chin. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head. “I’m ok. It just knocked the breath out of me.” She winces.
Again, terrible liar.
I help her stand, feeling Laiken’s hands land on my arm.
“Are you ok?” She squeezes my bicep before reaching for Ivy. “Oh my God, Ivy. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m good.” Ivy hugs her tight. “Are you ok? Where’s Trace?”
“I’m good. He’s inside.” She looks to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“You always call me, Laik.” I move to press a kiss to her hair.
When a squad car pulls into the drive, I notice Rhodes has already bailed. Jefferson, an officer we went to school with climbs out of the car and approaches.
“Maddox. Where is he?” He asks.
“He left.” Laiken looks rattled. “He showed up, yelling and pounding on the door. He threatened to take Trace if I didn’t let him see him. The same as always,” she scoffs. “But he was off. He seemed like he was on something.”
Jefferson glances at me. “You two get physical?”
“He made the first move,” Ivy defends me. “Maddox was only protecting himself, Laiken, and Trace.”
He nods. “Maybe he stayed close. I’ll put a bolo out for his pickup. Still have the white Ford?”
“Yeah. He hasn’t been by in almost a year. I wasn’t prepared.” Laiken shakes her head. “He just shows up sporadically.”
“I'll let you know if we see him. In the meantime, he shows up again you call immediately.”
“Thanks man, I appreciate it.” I shake his hand before he walks back to his cruiser.
Hugging both girls to my chest I hear a small voice call from the porch.
“Mama? Is he gone?”
“Maddox. Seriously, I’m fine.” Ivy is bent over the bathroom counter while I clean the cut across her back.
