CHAPTER3
Carinna
“I’m telling you mommy, Miss Hattie said that the man putting up the new equipment was an idiot and then she went to yell at him!”
Ugh!I knew I shouldn’t have let her got with Hattie. She just can’t help herself and she has no damn filter.
Bang bang!
“Shit!” I jump at the loud knocking. Then I hustle to the front door. There’s no one who should be here tonight so I can’t help but think it’s an emergency.
My jar drops when I open the door and spot Chris standing on the front stoop. “What the hell are you doing here?” I hiss.
He hands me a piece of paper that immediately makes my chest tighten. Nothing good ever came like this.
Sure enough, the official document gives Chris the right to spend time with his daughter. Even if he has to take her by herself.
“Oh hell no! That’s not happening, Chris! What the hell are you thinking? She doesn’t even know you. There’s no way in hell you are taking Maddy anywhere.”
He pulls a suitcase up from the ground. “Well, then, I guess I’m moving in. Because that paper gives me the right to spend time with my daughter. We can do it here or I can take her with me. I have a very nice hotel room and I’m sure we’ll have a great time. It’s a suite so she’ll have her own space.”
“There’s nothing like that in town,” I whisper.
“No. It’s about half an hour away. Still plenty close enough for you to come see her if you want to check on her.”
“That’s very nice of you,” I grind out between clenched teeth.
“That’s more than you gave me for the last ten years, Car.” His jaw is set and I can almost hear his teeth grinding.
I didn’t mean to hurt him. I never meant to do that. But did I expect him to care one way or another that we had a child? Hell no!
And yeah, I could have told him some time in the last ten years. But really? I convinced myself that he wouldn’t care.
That bit me in the ass.
There’s no way he’s taking Maddy alone! So if I have to put up with a room-mate while he’s here working? Well, I guess that I’ll just have to do it.
It feels like my dusty girly parts are cheering or gasping for breath. I’m not sure which.
“You guys better forget it. That’s not happening,” I mutter under my breath.
“What was that?” Chris asks me, his topaz blue eyes narrowed.
“Nothing. I suppose you better come in.” I step back and glare at him as he drags multiple suitcases through the door and leaves them sitting in her tiny foyer. “This isn’t going to be like a four-star hotel or something. You’ve got to handle your own luggage.”
He glares at me and for some reason it makes my inner girl cheer. I like to piss him off. What the hell is that all about?
“I’m not a damn spoiled prince or something, Carinna! I know how to take care of myself.”
“Good,” she growls and then stomps off into the tiny house. A pair of wide eyes peeks around the corner, eyeing Chris quizzically. I stop to watch them, curious what Chris is like with her.
“Hello? What are you doing here?” she asks curiously, staying hidden behind the corner of the wall.
He smiles at her and I can already tell she’s got him wrapped around her little finger. “I’m an old friend of your mother’s. She’s letting me stay here for a little while.”
“Cool. Where did you meet mom?” She sidles a little closer and I feel my heart squeeze in my chest. This is my daughter and she’s meeting her father for the first time. I hold my breath, awed and a little afraid.
“We actually met as kids. She was the only girl in junior high that would talk to me.”