Page 61 of Second Dance
The crowd continued to watch in stunned silence. I caught the coach’s eye and shook my head. “We’re going to take Bella home now.”
“Yeah, okay.” The coach wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Bella, come to practice tomorrow, all right? We’ll start fresh.”
“I’ll think about it,” Bella whispered.
Alex stumbled over and pulled Bella to him. “Listen to me,” he said, his voice ragged. “We couldn’t find him to get him to sign over custody. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to adopt you.”
She stared at him, her lips trembling. “You should have told me. You should have told me the truth.” She jerked away, storming toward the bench where her bag sat.
“Bella—”
But she grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and bolted past the cluster of stunned parents toward the parking lot. Annie called after her, but she didn’t slow.
Alex appeared to be in shock, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides.
Delphine appeared at my shoulder, pale but steady. “Go after her. Both of you. I’ll get Grace home. Bella needs you.”
I took Alex’s hand, feeling the tremor still running through him. His eyes were locked on the place where Bella had vanished, wild and broken.
“She hates me,” he said. “I’ve lost her.”
“No,” I said, squeezing tight. “She’s hurt. She’s scared. But she doesn’t hate you.”
But in my chest, a knot of fear tightened. Darren was trying to tear apart a family with his lies and manipulation. I was afraid it might have worked.
13
ALEX
By the time we pulled into the driveway, the fight in my jaw had gone from hot to a dull, insistent ache. I killed the engine and sat there a second, fingers locked white on the wheel, the quiet thudding through my teeth. Bella was out of the car before I’d unbuckled, bag slung over her shoulder like it might shield her. She didn’t look back.
I slumped, resting my forehead on the steering wheel. Gillian reached out to touch my bare forearm, her fingers dry and warm. “It’s going to be okay. She just needs a little time.”
“This is a mess.” I tilted my head to look at her. “I’m surprised you’re not running for the hills.”
She smiled, running her thumb over my bottom lip. “Life’s messy. That’s why it’s important to pick the right people to help you walk through it.”
I captured her hand and held it against my cheek. “Thank you for being here.”
“Thank you for letting me.”
In the kitchen, Sonya and Peter looked up from the island. Peter was still in practice gear, cap pushed back, a smear of infield dirt across his cheekbone. Sonya had a tea towel in onehand and a wooden spoon in the other, a pot of chili simmering behind her.
“Everything all right?” Sonya asked, though she could see it wasn’t. Her eyes flicked past me to Gillian, taking inventory, like she often did.
“I need to talk to Peter,” I said, voice rough.
“Of course. I’ll give you some time alone.” Sonya set the spoon down, squeezed my forearm in passing, and started for the back stairs. “I’ll be upstairs in the laundry room if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” I glanced at Gillian, who stood just inside the doorway, looking unsure.
“Do you want me to go too?”
“Stay. Please.” My voice broke on the please.
She nodded and took the stool next to Peter’s. He looked from her to me, his complexion paling. “What’s happened?”
I put my hands on the edge of the island, leaning hard to keep them from shaking. “Darren came to the game.”
