“You’re telling me I can’t see my own daughter, but you will let that dude be around her? How well do you know him? Huh?” he says, waving his hands around. “You fuck him while our daughter sleeps in the next room, I bet, huh? Really classy, Tessa.”

Yeah, he should really leave me out of it.

“I think you should leave before I call the cops,” Tessa says.

He starts walking toward me, and Tessa tugs on his jacket. A part of me wants to run toward him and just knock him off his feet, but I don’t want Emily to see that.

“Leave,” she says, holding up her phone with 9-1-1 clearly dialed. “I’m not playing.”

Chris locks eyes with me and starts walking backward. “Okay, I’ll leave. But next time you see me, it’ll be with court papers. I will see my daughter, whether you want me to or not.”

Tessa comes back to the car and gets in. “I’d really rather stay at your house tonight. Now that he knows where I live... he will keep coming back.”

She seems pretty shaken up, and all I want to do is bring her close and comfort her and assure her everything will be okay, but can I? A court battle is something that would go on and could be detrimental, but what judge would side with Chris after being out of Emily’s life for so long and the abuse? Texas is pro-mom and tries to keep the children with their mother unless otherwise proven unfit. Tessa is anything but an unfit mother. Everything revolves around her daughter, and she does what’s best for her at all times. I can’t see a judge taking Emily away from her.

As we walk in the house, Tessa turns on the TV for Emily and covers her up with a blanket. “Mama’s going to talk to Damon. I love you so much.” Tears are beginning to form in her eyes.


Tags: Ashley Zakrzewski Rough Edges Romance