I tried not to let her words affect me, but they did. Goddammit, they did. I wasn’t sure how a day that started so great had led to her looking at me like I was the worst person in the world for telling her no to some fucking cereal.
“Not today, Charlie. I just got in, and I want to spend time with you,” I said, forcing a sense of cheer to my voice that I didn’t feel. “What about our day together? We were going to have so much fun!” Charlie’s face turned bright red, and I could tell she was preparing to have a total meltdown, so I added, “How about I get Mr. Bennett’s number, and we can arrange something for later?”
Calling Duke “Mr. Bennett” was so weird. I hated the way it rolled off my tongue, but it also felt way too intimate to be using first names with a guy I hadn’t seen since my wedding. Especially when he was staring at me like I’d done something wrong.
“She can come with us,” Duke grunted. “I don’t care.”
Charlie and Harper began whooping and hollering like they’d just been told they could eat cake morning, noon, and night, but I held up my hand. He couldn’t just come in and undermine me. I’d already said no. And this was my day, dammit. I missed my daughter and wanted to spend time with her.
“I’m sorry, girls. It really will have to be another time.”
“What’s it matter if she stays with us?” Duke asked, shifting on his feet. “I said it wasn’t a problem, and I meant it. Just let the girl have some fun, Olivia.”
I turned toward him. “Because I haven’t seen my daughter in nearly three weeks, and I’d like to spend some time with her. What part of that is unclear?”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “Maybe that’s your problem.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, blinking in confusion. What the hell was happening right now? How did this day go to shit so damn fast?
“Maybe you shouldn’t go so long without seeing your daughter. Maybe,” he growled, taking a step, “you should realign your priorities. Make time for the things that matter.”
As much as I wanted to shrink away, I held my head up high. Sure, this may not have been my finest moment, but I’d gone toe-to-toe with bigger assholes than him before. I wasn’t about to back down now. Not for him. Not for anyone. “Kind of rude to throw around accusations when you don’t know what you’re talking about, isn’t it? I mean, I could do the same to you, but I’m not.”
“I know enough about your type. Always chasing another high. Always putting other shit and other people in front of the things that matter,” he spat. “And please, enlighten me on what judgments you could throw my way. I’d love to hear them.”
I pointed at his chest. “Your shirt is wrinkled, there’s a mustard stain along your collar, and you look like you haven’t showered or shaved in days.” The last line was a low blow, and I instantly felt bad as his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Guilt set in immediately, making me feel sick. God, what was I even saying? As if I had any right at all to talk about the state of someone else’s life when my own was a mess. “Look, I’m sorry. That was way beyond rude, and I?—”
“No, I get it. Wouldn’t want your daughter hanging out with someone so unkempt,” he muttered before turning toward Charlie and Harper. “Come on, Harper. I don’t feel like cooking. How about we grab some lunch in town?”
His daughter nodded, turning to Charlie and wrapping her in a big hug. “See you next weekend at the game, Charlie.”
I stood in silent, embarrassed shock as Duke tucked his daughter under one arm and walked away from his cart filledwith groceries. What the hell just happened? The whole scenario was like a strange fever dream.
“That wassomean. I can’t believe you’d say that. You don’t even know him,” Charlie said.
Ididknow him, but that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t worth arguing. Her little fist was clenched at her side, and she was looking at me like she’d never seen me before, like I was the worst person in the world.
Honestly, I felt like that, too.
I didn’t know why I said the things I did. I could blame it on exhaustion or frustration, but that didn’t make this sickening feeling go away.
There was something unnerving about the way Duke stared at me. Like he could see down into the depths of my soul and had already determined that I was a horrible, judgmental, selfish person. As much as it pained me to admit it, there may be some truth to it. Maybe my job had turned me into someone else—someone I didn’t recognize.
“Charlie…” I began but stopped as her posture deflated, and her head hung low.
“Let’s just go home,” she muttered, stomping ahead of me. “I just wanna go home.”
I stared at Duke’s cart full of groceries, guilt tugging at something deep within. Grabbing hold of the handle before thinking better of it, I followed after my daughter, feeling my hope for the day wither away until it was nothing but ashes, crumbling in the wind.
DUKE
“Heard your day was shit,”Lukas said, amusement coloring his voice as I picked up my phone.
“Understatement of the fucking century,” I muttered beneath my breath, drying my hands on a dish towel on the counter.
It was so much more than just a day. Two years ago, I had everything figured out. My life was better than it’d ever been. My wife and I were happy. Harper was thriving in school. I gave back to my community, and my community gave back to me, supporting the dream I was chasing. Because of them, I quit my job at the mechanic shop to ensure Frank’s Bar—a Pinecrest legend—was restored to its former glory and gave the lost and weary a place to call home.
Little did I realize I would soon become one of them.