“You have no right,” I remind him.
“No,” he says almost apologetically. “I mean… yeah, I understand that. I want to do this legally, of course. However you think is best.”
My voice shakes with fury. “It’s been almost two years and I’ve not heard a word from you. And now you just want to show up and see Felicity.”
“She’s my daughter, Emory,” he reminds me.
I take a few steps toward him, and as I get closer I note that his face is more lined than it was before and he has some gray starting at the temples. Shane is ten years older than me, but even at thirty-eight, he shouldn’t look so worn.
It’s the drugs that will do that though.
“Are you clean?” I ask him.
“Yes,” he replies, a tone of pride in his voice. “Just over four months.”
I already knew the answer to that. He looks too healthy to be using. He looks like the man I married almost eight years ago, minus the graying hair.
“How did you even find me?” I ask, an unnecessary question but I don’t know what else to say right now. In a million years, I never thought I’d see Shane again. I thought he was gone for good.
“My parents said you took a job in Phoenix. A quick Google search and I found you on the Vengeance website. Another quick search, found your property tax records.”
“And you couldn’t call first?” I snap at him. “This isn’t cool you just showing up like this.”
“I know,” he says assuredly, and then repeats, “I know. I just thought you’d hang up on me or wouldn’t return my call. I figured you’d be forced to talk to me if I came here. I know it’s rude, but I’m very serious about reestablishing my relationship with Felicity.”
“It can’t be tonight,” I tell him. I’d need time to prepare her. Explain things. “And… I need to call my attorney.”
Shane bobs his head in acknowledgment. “I would appreciate that.”
“This is going to be hard for her,” I murmur.
He takes that in the wrong way, and I see a little of the arrogance that he used to possess when he was an esteemed, tenured professor at UCLA, where we met. “I have rights, Emory. My parents have retained an attorney for me as well.”
“I’m not stupid, Shane,” I snap at him, and then take a step back. “But I have rights, too and I intend to protect Felicity. You may be entitled to come back into her life, but we’re going to do it in the way that’s least traumatizing to her.”
He drops his gaze for a moment, then fishes into his pocket. He holds a piece of paper torn from a small notepad out to me. “That’s my cell phone number. Call me as soon as you’re able to talk to your attorney and we can come to some type of agreement.”
“Where are you staying?” I ask as I take the paper and shove it into my pocket.
“The Orion downtown,” he replies.
“I’ll call as soon as I talk to my attorney,” I promise him.
“Okay, thanks,” he says brightly, a smile breaking wide on his face. “How have you been doing, Emory? You look great.”
Shane might be clean, but that statement right there means I can’t trust his priorities. “I’d think you’d much rather know about your daughter than me.” The sneer in my tone is cold and bitter. “What I am is your ex-wife and thus none of your business.”
“Right,” he says softly, duly chastened and put in his place. “Of course. How is Felicity?”
I’m pissed she’s an afterthought, so I don’t bother to give him an answer. “I’ll call you after I talk to my attorney,” I say instead, reaching back for the doorknob. He nods but makes no move to leave. “Don’t come back here uninvited, Shane.”
“Understood,” he replies and finally pivots on his foot. He jogs down the three steps, to my sidewalk and out to a car parked on the side of the road.
My legs turn shaky all of a sudden and I lean back against the door until he pulls away. I use that time to try to get my nerves back under control and hope to hell I can figure out how to explain the sudden reappearance of her dad to Felicity.
CHAPTER 15
Jett
I wait for Emory to come back into the living room. After she came inside from talking to whoever was out there, we finished the game of charades. Felicity and I were supreme champions.
After that, Jenna made a big deal about getting Felicity ready for bed and I assumed that was to give Emory and I alone time. I have absolutely no expectations of what the rest of the night will hold past her coming back in here and walking me to the door for a good night kiss. Pretty sure sex in her house with her kid down the hall is a non-starter, and not one I’m all that interested in anyway. It would be a bit weird.