“Give me a damn second.” I kept my tone even, not wanting to upset Gage in my arms. “This is a lot to process.”
My response wasn’t good enough for Ashley. Her lower lip wobbled, and her eyes started shimmering with tears.
I knew what was coming.
She burst into a sobbing fit, crying and wailing.
“Ashley!” I said. “Calm down! You’re going to—”
Right on cue, Gage started wailing. Between his crying and his mother’s, the noise was deafening. I glanced up to see Mark Foster, my retired neighbor, regarding the scene from his porch. Mark was hardly a busybody, but no doubt he was curious about what was happening.
I gave him a wave, letting him know the situation was under control.
“Come on, everyone inside.” Letting Ashley into the house didn’t seem like the best idea, but it was a damn sight better than her carrying on getting the attention of the entire neighborhood.
Gage in my arms, I went into the house and waited for everyone to follow me. They did, and I wasted no time shutting the heavy door. Gage’s crying echoed through the vast interior, and as he cried, I spotted a small backpack on Ashley’s back.
“There anything in there that I can give to him?” I asked.
Ashley’s wailing had stopped on a dime, her attention now on the interior of my house. I could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes. Her behavior was making me remember just why I’d been wary of her before—Ashley's emotional states seemed to flicker here and there in an instant, such behavior beginning after we’d slept together.
She didn’t respond at first, her attention totally taken by my house. I began to wonder if this was all about money.
“Ashley!”
“Huh?” she snapped out of her daze, shaking her head and turning back to me. “What?”
“Gage!”
“Oh.” She slipped one arm out of the backpack and swung it around toward me. She unzipped one of the pockets, fishing out a pacifier and handing it over. I quickly took it and placed it in Gage’s mouth, the baby eagerly accepting it, closing his eyes and sucking gently and, thankfully, stopped crying.
Mom scoffed. “Look at you, barely even noticing your baby’s crying, too damn busy counting up how much money you can squeeze out of my son.”
Thatgot Ashley’s attention. She turned to Mom, fire in her eyes.
“There you go again, calling me a whore! You think this is all about money?”
Mom shrugged. “If the shoe fits...”
“Karen.” Dad put his hand on Mom’s arm. “That’s not helping.”
“Someoneneeds to call out what’s going on here.”
Dad was right, Mom saying things like that would only increase the tension. I needed to talk to Ashley alone. However, I didn’t want to be totallyalone with her in case she flew off the handle.
“Mom, Dad, why don’t you step into the kitchen for a minute. I need a little time with Ashley to talk this over.”
Ashley’s expression turned on a dime once more, this time lighting up with happiness.
“That’s right! We need to talk about visitation and schools and all that. Not to mention that I'm living all the way in Aurora, so we’ll have to discuss moving me closer to make all of this easier.”
Mom let out a mocking laugh. “Pump the brakes there, sweetheart. Not a chance in hell any of that is happening without knowing for sure if the kid is his.”
The happiness on Ashley’s face turned to raw anger.
“Mom,” I said. “Please.”
Mom narrowed her eyes at Ashley, and I could sense that she had a few more choice words that she was holding back. Thankfully, she kept them to herself. Dad put his hand on her arm, nodding toward the kitchen.
