Page 53 of Visions of You

“The one with the cats?” Hailey asked.

“Exactly. You want to work on it with me?”

Hailey whipped her head to me. “Can I sleep here tonight?”

I placed my hand on her shoulder, already running over the possibilities this gave me with April. “Will you be good for Nona?”

“Of course!”

“All right. You go with Nona to put the puzzle together, and I’ll go see if April will go with us tomorrow.”

And I’ll try to put the pieces together with her.

When I knocked on her door, April answered wearing sweats and fluffy slippers. She wore an oversized sweatshirt, and the neck had shifted to expose one bare shoulder. I tried not to stare at it. No bra. Even in sweats and slippers, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“I didn’t expect you again today,” she said as she turned around and padded back to the couch.

I sat next to her, resting one arm over the back of the couch. “I wanted to talk to you. Hailey’s spending the night at the Big House.”

Her eyes flicked to me, but she didn’t reply.

“You’re right,” I said softly. “I overreacted. I’m sorry.”

Her throat moved as she swallowed. “I’ve been thinking about it all evening. If some random guest’s kid had come up to me like that, I would have let them take a puff or two off the reg, but no more. Definitely not put the whole kit on. So you were right too. Hailey’s your daughter, and you have the right to call the shots about what she does.”

Tension I hadn’t realized I’d been holding drained from my sore and stiff shoulders. I stretched them. “I never meant to question your judgment. I know you’d never put Hailey’s safety at risk.”

Finally, she met my eyes. “I wouldn’t, Gabe. I’m pretty damn good at what I do.”

“I know you are. You’re good at a lot of things.”

She smirked but didn’t respond, letting me know we weren’t quite back on normal footing yet as she returned her gaze to her hands. And I had something else to say anyway. “You said something this afternoon that really bothered me.”

“What?”

“That you’re used to men treating you like shit.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “That pretty much sums up all the relationships I’ve had.”

I reached out and placed two fingers under her jaw, tilting her head to face me. “If I made you feel like that, I am really, really sorry. I mean that, April. I like the man I am when I’m with you. I’ve had a rough couple of years, and it’s made me... more guarded than I used to be. But I’ll try to do better. Because you deserve better.”

“You’re talking about your wife.”

Now it was my turn to swallow over the sudden constriction in my throat. I nodded. “I can’t say I ever felt Kora was the love of my life, but I was in it for the long haul. I thought she was too, until she told me she was leaving. She moved across the country and pretty much abandoned Hailey. Our divorce was pretty ugly and contested. It left me bitter. Then, about a year ago, she called me out of the blue wanting to renegotiate our custody arrangement and get partial custody of Hailey.”

“She obviously didn’t win.”

I smiled grimly. “No. I told her if she wanted a legal fight, she hadn’t seen anything yet. I was a little surprised at how easily she gave up the idea. Then she went back to whatever rock she’s been hiding under. We haven’t heard from her since, and I have a feeling it’s for good this time. Which is fine with me.”

April shook her head. “Poor Hailey.”

“Yeah. I’ve done my best to help her understand her mother’s behavior has nothing to do with her, but that was the main reason Imoved from Miami. I wanted Hailey to have a strong, supportive family around her.”

April reached over and placed her hand over mine. “You’re an amazing father. I hope you know that.”

I turned my hand and laced my fingers between hers. “I’m trying as hard as I can. And who knows? Maybe Hailey will be a part of the resort one day.”

“Maia told me you came back here to help shore up the bottom line. Have things improved?”

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