“Picking up the deposit bag. Karma hasn’t been able to take it to the bank during her lunch.”
I nodded as if interested, but I wasn’t. “I gotta go.”
“I assume you’re going to continue stalking her.”
“She’ll come around.”
“It’s been months, man.” Art went to the back door. “I don’t think she’s coming around.”
“She will.” I straddled the seat of my hog, refusing to believe I’d never get her back. “Later.” I started the engine and left. I wasn’t about to discuss my private life with Art or anyone else.
Maybe Karma needed some space, a little time to think through her actions. I’d been hounding her every week for months. Hell, it was getting old for me too. What if I was doing more harm than good? Shit, it was possible.
A couple of weeks would give me time to deal with shit in my own territory, then I’d turn up the heat on Karma. If she forced my hand, I’d get a lawyer involved. I didn’t want to go that route, but I would do anything to have a relationship with my kid, even take Karma to court.
2
Karma
I hadn’t heard from Abe in the past four days. After being forced to deal with him several times a week, it was strange to be back where I’d started when I moved us to Bastion Township—alone.
It was just as well.
The more I saw Abe, the more difficult it was to keep my feelings buried. He was incredibly sexy, and he still wore the same cologne I had loved. Smelling him was sheer torture.
“Can I have more fish sticks, please?” Nova’s sweet voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Absolutely.” I got up from my chair and went to the stove. I brought the baking sheet to the table. “You can eat the rest.”
“What about you? Why aren’t you eating?” She studied my plate. I had only eaten one bite of my salad.
“I guess I’m not very hungry.”
“Are you feeling okay?” She collected the last four fish sticks and swiped one through the ketchup mixed with tartar sauce on her plate, then shoved it into her mouth.
“I’m fine.” I refrained from making a face. I couldn’t eat the condiment combination, but Nova loved it. She requested fish sticks every week for dinner. We went through a lot of ketchup and tartar sauce in our house.
“Can I ask you something?” She chewed her food.
“Depends on what it is.” My girl was brilliant and asked a lot of questions. The ones about her dad were the most difficult to answer, so I usually redirected her.
“Why were you crying in bed last night? I heard you, but I was too afraid to check on you.”
Oh, my heart. I didn’t expect her to ask about that. I’d tried to be quiet, but the more I had thought about Abe, the louder my sobs had become.
“I guess I was just sad.” And a little regretful for pushing him away last week. When I didn’t see him, I almost felt like I could hear his stupid excuses for what he’d done to break us, maybe even give him a second chance for Nova’s sake. But the very sight of him turned me into a vindictive bitch. I couldn’t look at him without remembering the day everything changed. So yeah, I was in an awful place last night.
“Sad about my daddy?”
I nodded as I took a drink of my lemon water. Of course, she was talking about someone else.
“I get sad sometimes too.”
“You do? Why haven’t you told me?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t like talking about him. I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Aww, sweetie. You can always tell me what’s on your mind.” I ran my fingers down her long brown hair. “You don’t need to worry about me. Worrying is for grown-ups, not kids.”