Page 61 of Wildflower and Whiskey
“After I sent him the money, he stopped being in touch, but that isn’t unusual. A month could pass without him checking in.”
Phoenix’s brows drew together. “Something sounds off.”
I blinked. “I don’t ever know what to expect from Riley. He’s a wild card. I’ve had to give him money before, but this time was different. He told me to leave Montreal. He looked scared. Why is he suddenly interested in his son?”
Phoenix took my phone, scrolling.
Pierre’s cruiser pulled into the lot with Becket riding shotgun. They both got out, the warm October wind tugging at their jackets.
Phoenix briefed them quickly, and I added what I knew.
“Can I see your phone?” Becket asked.
I handed it over, watching his expression tighten.
Pierre turned to me. “Elyna, why don’t you sit in the truck? Let us handle this.”
“I can’t leave Braden.”
“Becket’s checking the cameras,” Pierre said. “We’ll keep an officer posted. He’s safe.”
I nodded, though my throat was tight. “Thanks, Pierre.”
“No need to thank me, Elyna. You and Luc are part of our family too,” he said.
I thought of Luc and the promise I made to keep him in the loop. I hadn’t done a good job of that at all.
“Leave your car here. I’ll bring Cooper later to pick it up,” Phoenix offered. I got into his truck and he drove off. He picked up my hand. “Has Riley ever acted this way before?”
He watched me, waiting for an answer.
“Elyna?”
“At first I just thought he was possessive. I was tending bar. I got lots of attention from males. I thought Riley’s jealousy was cute but when he asked me to quit my job, I realized he wasn’t cute anymore. He was controlling. By that point I got pregnant with Braden and Riley moved on, but he still checked in on me. There were times he offered me some money but it wasn’t often. By the time I was eight months pregnant, I learned about his gambling habits. He works in a large brokerage firm in Montreal. He wears a nice suit. I thought he was something else. But I was wrong, Phoenix. Like I said, I made my share of mistakes, and now my boy has to pay for the fact his father is a loser,” I said, and the tears started falling.
Phoenix leaned over to hug me, but I stopped him. “There’s more.” I swiped at my eyes and sniffled.
“I’m listening,” he assured, watching me in the intense way he always did.
“Riley convinced me to take him back. He told me he wanted us to be a family and he was going to get his shit together. I believed him. Then when Braden was about one month old, my friend, Harmony Bellerose, gave me a call. She told me she heard I had gotten back together with that loser Riley. She wanted me to know he was at a bar with his tongue down some chick’s throat and her hands in his pants.”
Phoenix hissed from beside me. He didn’t look at me in a judgmental way. He just seemedangryat Riley’s behavior.
“After that, I told him we were done. But then he didn’t have money to keep his apartment and he used theare you going to let the father of your child live on the street cardwith me. So I had him sleeping on our couch, not contributing and barely helping me with Braden. Then he told me I had to leave town because some bad people were threatening him. That’s it. . .the whole story. He isn’t responsible. He doesn’t know how to take care of Braden. I should’ve never left him with Colette when I first came to town, but I was out of any good options, and well, you know what happened with that. When I saw her smoking around Braden, I worried about her taking care of him. Now I know she’s angry about my mom’s affair, well that just made matters worse.”
“Honey, you’re a strong woman,” Phoenix said, surprising the hell out of me.
I burst into nervous laughter. “That is what you took from my sob story?”
He watched me with such empathy it was gutting me. His thumb swept once across my knuckles, one small anchoring touch.
“Wildflower,” he said.
“Huh?” I was confused.
“You’re as beautiful and strong as wildflowers. Think about it. They grow without being planted and survive the harshest conditions, yet they are so beautiful,” he said. His words gutting me and putting me back together again.
“Phoenix.” My voice was breathy.
