A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) (18 page)

"So
if you would have hit a different vein and she would have bled to
death, that would've been okay. It would have been an accident. I
don't think so. You didn't even help her. You just left. What about
your behavior at the funeral home? What about this morning?"

The
guy was acting like it was all no big deal. I felt my body getting
tighter and tighter. It was taking all I had not to go after him.

"I
want her back?" he said.

"Why?"
I asked. "You just said that she wasn't doing what she was
supposed to. She owns the bakery now. You keep calling April and Jack
kids like they aren't even yours. You said you didn't want a second
kid. You've done nothing to take care of them or see them. Don't you
think they deserve a father?"

"If
I have to deal with the kids to have her, I will," he said.

"No,"
I growled. "You leave her alone. They don't need someone around
just because. They deserve to have someone love them and care for
them. Do you have any idea how smart they are? They are amazing,
Mike. I can't believe you can stand here and talk about them like
they aren't real people. Those are your kids."

"If
you like them so much, then you take care of them. Olivia belongs
with me. I was the one that wanted to be with her. I was the one that
didn't leave. You don't get to come back here after sixteen years and
save the day."

"I
don't get it," I said. "You say you want to get her back,
but you have been nothing but shitty to her."

"I
don't care if she takes me back or not. I care that you don't get
her," he said. "She's not all that you know. She can't even
take care of her man when she has one."

"Do
not talk about her like that again. You need to shut your mouth. I
came here to tell you to leave her alone. Do not touch her. If I find
out you go anywhere near her, I will beat your ass worse than you
have ever gotten it before."

"So
you think you're some kind of big man now. You need to get over
yourself. Just because you left here and became big stuff doesn't
mean you can push people around. You need to mind your own fucking
business before I kick your ass."

I
stood still and closed my eyes to try and calm my nerves. That wasn't
the smartest thing. Out of nowhere, he got me in the eye. I felt the
blow before stumbling back a few feet. When I opened my eyes, I saw
his dad watching me. He shook his head and turned around. I pulled my
arm back and got him in the cheek. Before I knew it, we were on the
ground. I was on top of him. In that moment, I was thankful for my
gym. He got in one shot to my three. It didn't take long before his
dad was back out with the phone in his hand and two guys from the
shop trying to pull me off of Mike.

"Enough,"
he yelled. "You are both grown men. Get up off that ground
before I call the cops. I'm sure it won't be good for your whole
doctor thing. It won't be good for you either. They've already had to
deal with you once today."

I
pushed off of Mike and stood up. His dad was right. I didn't want to
deal with his son any more than I had to. I stopped in front of my
car and looked back to where Mike was sitting on the ground.

"Stay
the fuck away from her. I don't care if I have to fly back here every
weekend. Every single time you speak to her or go anywhere near her,
I will be back here to talk to you. If I find out you touch her, I
will crush your ass. This is your one and only warning."

He
grumbled back at me. I got in my car and drove away before we both
started again. We looked like two teenagers fighting over a girl. It
made me so angry hearing him talk about his wife and kids that way.
Who treats people like that? I thought about my dad and the way he
always made me feel. There was no way I ever wanted Jack to feel that
way about men in his life. April had Livie to look up to. Jack needed
someone in his life as well.

I
went home to change my shirt and look at my face. He had gotten
another good one in after the first surprise. I iced my eye and put a
bandage over the other side. It wasn't a huge cut, but I was hoping
to keep it to a tiny scar or none at all. I had originally planned to
be back at work within two days, but plans had changed. There was no
way I was going back with a messed up eye. It was definitely going to
be black. That fucker had to get me when I wasn't looking. He
couldn't even be a man about it.

I
thought about going by the bakery but decided against it. She was
going to make a scene. I knew there was no avoiding it. Instead, I
went to the store to buy stuff for dinner. Maybe I could calm her
with some steaks on the grill, I thought. It was worth a shot. I
would even bake a cake. It would taste nothing like hers, but it was
the thought that counted. Right?

Olivia

I
was so happy to be home from work. It had been the longest day ever.
Mike had totally freaked me out when he showed up that morning. I
never thought he would hurt me intentionally, but I have to admit, I
was scared at that moment. The look on his face was enough to get me.
I had never been so happy to see headlights in my life. Then when I
was home for lunch, Z heard me talking to my mom, and I blew up at
him. I was hoping to get dinner made, spend time with the kids, and
read before drifting off into a dreamless, calm sleep. I would be
home. It was the one place I could lock the door and shut out the
rest of the world. Everything would be great as soon as I got there.

When
I pulled up in the driveway and got out to the car, the most amazing
smell drifted passed my nose. I grabbed my purse, phone, and work bag
and looked up to see Z standing over a grill with both of the kids
next to him.

"Don't
make dinner, I'm cooking," he yelled back over his shoulder.

"We
even made a cake, mommy," Jack yelled toward me with a smile on
his face.

"Please
watch the kids by the grill," I yelled out without thinking
about him being a doctor.

I
knew he was watching them. It was me always warning others to be
careful. I didn't want them to get hurt.

"We'll
call you over when it's ready," he said. "Go soak in the
tub. You have plenty of time."

I
walked in and my mom looked over at me with a strange look on her
face.

"What?"
I asked.

"Nothing,"
she said, as she shook her head and walked away.

What
the hell was that about, I wondered? There was no reading that
expression. Something was going on in her head, but I had no idea
what it was.

I
took off up the stairs, dropped my stuff on my bed, and went straight
to the bathroom. Z was making dinner, and I was taking advantage of
it. It had been a long time since I had been able to take a long bath
while someone else worried about dinner. Usually, I walked in the
door to both kids telling on each other, cooked up something for
dinner, and spent a few minutes with them. Then I'd clean up, get
them ready for bed, and be lucky if I even got a shower in before
collapsing onto my bed. I ran the bath water, grabbed my e-reader,
and let my body ease into the warm, relaxing water.

My
head was back against the tub and my eyes were closed. I could hear
the kids laughing and playing outside. It made me smile so wide. I
could hear the things he was saying back to them. He was cracking me
up. I opened my tablet and started reading as I soaked. It felt so
good to feel the tension leave my body.

It
felt like minutes passed when I heard the footsteps approach the
door.

"Mommy,"
Jack's little voice said.

"Yes,"
I answered.

"Dinner's
ready," he said.

"I'll
be right out. You guys start without me," I said.

His
little feet took off down the stairs. It made me realize how big the
two of them were getting. I spent as much time with them as I could,
but it was going by so fast. Quickly, I finished my bath, dried off,
and threw on some comfortable clothes. Everyone that was outside had
definitely seen me look much worse than I was at that moment. I
brushed out my hair, threw on some flip-flops, and headed out the
door.

The
smell that hit my nose as soon as I opened the door had my mouth
watering. I loved the smell of barbecue straight from the grill.
They were all sitting at a picnic table in Z's backyard. It brought
back memories of summers when we were in high school. His back was to
me. There was a child on each side of him. He had no idea how much
they liked him. It was impossible not to.

"Did
the kids wash their hands?" I asked.

"Of
course they did," he said. "Come on, I made you a plate
already."

When
I sat down and looked at my plate, I felt my stomach growl. I didn't
realize that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. When I came home for
lunch, I ended up being too upset to eat after arguing with him.
There was chicken, steak, potatoes, and corn on my plate. He
remembered exactly how I liked my corn. It made me laugh when I
thought about how strange he thought I was that I sprinkled parmesan
cheese on it. It did melt my heart a little to know that he
remembered.

"Taste
it, mom," April said. "We made it together."

Z
was looking down at his plate. I felt so bad for the way I treated
him earlier in the day and knew that I needed to make sure to
apologize. Everything was hitting me, and I was having a hard time.
It didn't give me the right to take it out on him. Both of our moms
were enjoying their food, but neither of them had said a word. I
lifted the corn to take a bite, and let out a tiny moan. It was so
sweet and perfect.

"Do
you like it?" April asked. "Did we do a good job?"

"You
sure did," I said. "It tastes so good."

The
kids were going back and forth about what they had each done to help
and about the funny things Zander had done. I couldn't help but smile
and laugh right along with their happy little stories. I ate every
bite of food on my plate. It was all so good.

"This
was really nice," I said, as I looked at Z. "It was awesome
being able to take a real bath and be fed such a great meal. Thank
you."

He
looked up from his plate, and I let out a gasp mixed with a yelp. My
hand went to my mouth in shock.

"What
happened to you?" I asked concerned.

He
looked so rough. His eye was dark and swollen and there was a cut on
the other side of his face. Oh shit, I thought! I tilted my head
back, closed my eyes, and shook my head, as I let out a long breath.

"What
did you do?" I asked.

"Nothing,"
he said. "It's fine."

"Zander,"
I said with a tremble in my voice.

"It
was just a little accident. Everything is fine."

April
ran into his house and got the cake. She cut it, and he helped her
serve a piece to everyone. I bit into it with a smile pasted on my
face, even though I was ready to explode. The cake was dry, out of a
box, with canned frosting, but it was the sweetest thing anyone had
ever done for me. I made sure to go on and on to the kids about how
good it was. They both ran over to hug me and tell me how much they
loved me. I told them how happy I was that they made me such an
amazing dinner. They were both so proud of themselves.

All
I could think about the entire time was how I asked one thing from
him. That man never listened before. I don't know why I thought he
would be different after all those years. He had always taken care of
me when something happened in high school. It wasn't high school
anymore, and he had been out of my life for so long. It was my job to
take care of myself, not his. I asked him to mind his own business
and not leave me shit to deal with when he left. Could he listen? No.
Little accident my ass.