Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“Am I fired?”
I shake my head but also grimace. “My contract is up in November, and I’m going to take her back to the states.”
Talisa starts to cry.
“I’m sorry, I truly am, but I have an offer for you.”
“What is it?”
“Come with us. I have a son who’s sixteen, almost seventeen, and I own my medical practice in a town called Beaumont. It’s small, quaint, and we have a lot of friends there. Our house is nicer, you’d have your own room, and I’d double your pay. I need someone to be home with the kids, especially when I’m on call and need to leave in the middle of the night. I know you don’t have family here, or not much family, and would understand if you say no—”
“Yes,” she says, interrupting me.
“Yeah?”
“I love that little girl, Mr. Nick. I don’t want to lose her.”
“We love you, Talisa. You’re very good with Amelie and I know Mack will love you as well. Fair warning, he’s an active kid. He plays a lot of sports.”
“I don’t mind. Thank you.”
We go over some loose logistics and I tell her I’ll get the paperwork started on a work visa for her. After I walk her out to her again, I head inside and into my bedroom. Just as I’m crawling into bed, my phone rings with a video call from Mack. I sit up and turn my bedside lamp on and accept the call.
“Hey bud,” I say when he comes into view.
“Hey, did I wake you?”
“Nah, just crawled into bed. How are things going?”
“Things are good. But, uh, I wanted to tell you something.”
“Okay, what’s up?” I try to keep my expression neutral even though I’m shaking like a leaf on the inside.
“Well, I . . . look don’t be mad, okay?”
I don’t know how much more I can take tonight. “Mack, just spit it out, bud. It’s hard for me to be mad when I’m here and you’re there. Is Liam mad at you?”
His face blanches. “No, not at all.”
“Okay, then. What is it?”
“I took Betty Paige out on a date last night,” he tells me. “We went to the movies. I paid for it with the money Mr. Powell gives me for mowing his yard.”
My heart goes up and down, side to side, flips, flops, and twists. Not only have I not been there to teach my son to drive, but I’ve missed his first date. Not only his first date, but one with Liam Page’s daughter. My body temperature rises and not in a good way.
“Liam was okay with this?”
Mack nods. “I asked him first,” he tells me. “I mean I had to ask if I could go out, but then I asked him if it would be okay if I took Betty Paige to the movies.”
“As friends?”
Mack’s cheeks flare pink.
“I like her, Dad. A lot, and I know she likes me.”
I know. I’ve known for years.
“Okay.” I’m not sure how to proceed. Liam knows so that’s good. “Promise me something, Mack.”
“Liam already had the talk if that’s what you’re going to say.”
“I wasn’t, but that’s good to know. Just be careful, okay?”
Mack nods again. “Dad?”
“Yeah, son?”
“I kissed her.” He grins and giggles and then the little shit hangs up the phone.
14
Timing is everything. If Amelie hadn’t shown up on my off week and told me about her mother’s boyfriend, whose name I can’t even bring myself to say, I’d be sitting alone in my apartment asking myself, “Self, what the fuck are you doing?” I came to South Africa to make sure my daughter was okay, make sure she lived in a safe neighborhood, to enroll her in school, and had a schedule full of activities. Even though Aubrey told me she was going to be around for our daughter, the reality is, she’s never here. And maybe that’s my fault. Maybe knowing I was here to make sure Amelie was okay made her think she didn’t need to be present. Who knows.
What I do know is our luggage is packed and sitting by the door, the car rental returned, Talisa’s work visa is approved and in hand, and as soon as Aubrey gets here, we’ll be on our way to the airport.
When I first brought up moving back to Beaumont to Amelie, she hesitated. As I knew she would. I’m not trying to take her away from her mother—I’m trying to protect her. The things she said, and the man her mother is choosing to be with, put my daughter in harm’s way. I had hoped Aubrey would see the light, but she’s in love or re-in love as she’s called it and has blinders one. At this point, there isn’t any arguing with her. If she wants to see Amelie and Mack, she’ll come to the states. If she wants them to come to wherever she’ll be living, Talisa will fly with them, and the fiancé won’t be allowed anywhere near my children. It’s simple, I don’t trust him. I’ve seen enough child abuse victims in my office, true crime documentaries, and stories of parents or stepparents doing the unthinkable to their kids. That won’t happen to mine. Not as long as I’m alive.