They don’t say anything, which tells me there was no adult.
I try to keep my voice soft so they don’t know how pissed I am. “Must’ve been nice by the lake. How close were y’all to the water?”
“Super close, but Mama said we couldn’t go in it. That was a bummer.”
My children were unsupervised at the fucking lake. It’s a small miracle they didn’t jump in.
I kiss them on the tops of their heads, grateful they’re home safe and sound. No thanks to Amber.
Gabriel starts to fidget. “Did you really get married?”
I was hoping he’d forget about that until morning, and we could all go to bed. “I did. She’s a nice girl. You’re gonna like her. Do you remember Danny? I have that picture of y’all on my desk that time we went to get ice cream when you were little.” He nods. “Paige is Danny’s younger sister. You’ll meet her tomorrow.”
“Mama doesn’t like her. She called her a tramp.”
“Well, that’s not true. Besides, we don’t call people names in my house.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But there’s no need to worry. Paige is a sweetheart. She’s not gonna change anything around here.” My ex-wife is something else. I have never called her boyfriends names in front of our kids. “Your mom is just stressed out about her job. How did her commercial go?”
He shrugs again, and I’m starting to wonder if she had a gig at all. Amber models sometimes, but I think she uses it as an excuse to run off whenever she wants to.
“It’s good to have you two back. I’m thinking maybe we need to go fishing now that you’re home. Since you didn’t have a chance to do that on your vacation.”
Gabriel’s eyes light up, but Austin is too tired to do more than snuggle against me.
“Are you hungry or did you eat dinner?” It’s late, but sometimes Amber loses track of time.
The boys want a snack, so I get them fed, clean them up, and tuck them into bed. An hour later, I’m ready to pass out, but I wanna check in with Paige. I feel bad I ditched her like that, but I didn’t want to put her in front of Amber’s firing squad.
But when I call, she doesn’t pick up. No surprise there. The woman never answers when I call. “Paige, it’s me. Just wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ll be back in the morning to pick you up. Hope you had a nice night.”
A nice night? After I left her naked in the hot tub?I roll my eyes at myself. Messages aren’t my strong suit, so I try to never leave them.
I flip on the baby monitor and crawl into bed. Gabriel’s big enough to ask for help if he needs it, but Austin’s barely out of nighttime pull-ups. If he has an accident, he’ll start crying.
As I stare at the ceiling, my mind wanders to Paige. I’ve never been as turned on as I was in that hot tub with her insane body pressed against mine.
The memory of her hot mouth around my cock instantly makes me rock hard. She looked like a water nymph with all that red hair. I was in the middle of an existential experience when I got that damn phone call.
Reaching into my shorts, I’m ready to replay that incredible blow job, to imagine what it would feel like to sink my dick into her tight, warm heat, when Austin yells out through the monitor.
I leap out of bed. By the time I reach his room, he’s vomiting.
But it gets worse.
A few hours later, I get a call that our fences have been cut again.
Fuck my life.
15
PAIGE
When I heara truck pull up in front of the cabin, I let out a sigh of relief. We were supposed to be out of here hours ago. Rhett said he’d be back in the morning to get me, and it’s almost three in the afternoon.
I’m trying really hard not to feel forgotten right now. I couldn’t even call him because I barely have a signal.
