Her lips purse. “You cannot keep me from my grandchild, Tristan. You already moved her to this godforsaken town. The least you can do is make her available to me whenever I request.”
“Yeah, that isn’t how this is going to work.” I chance a glance at Stella, who is standing in the entryway, watching the two of us with wide eyes. I lower my voice, practically hissing out the words, “She’s my daughter, Gloria, and I’m asking that you please call ahead to let me know when you’d like to see her.”
“Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we? You don’t deserve her, Tristan. You cannot give her all the things that I can. With me she will live a life worthy of the Clemmens name. She’ll want for nothing. Come along, Stella, we can wait outside while your mother installs the car seat so we’re ready to go as soon as possible.” She sweeps past me, clearly dismissing me. I mentally count to ten, afraid if I don’t calm down, I’m going to commit murder right in front of my child. Stella still looks a little dazed. I have always been so careful to not argue with Gloria in front of her in the past. I give her a little wink, and then head down the stairs to switch out the car seats.
Less than ten minutes later I’m standing on the front porch, watching the town car turn the corner and disappear out of sight.
I’m going to be a nervous wreck until the second that car pulls back up and drops her off again. Gloria seemed particularly…off this evening. For a fleeting second I feared that Gloria simply wouldn’t bring her back. It was a crazy thought. The chances that she planned to kidnap my daughter and run away are pretty slim. She would go the legal route and file a petition with the court to prove that she’s the better guardian.
I have to force myself to turn away and walk back into the house. I head straight to the kitchen and pour myself my promised glass of wine. I drink half of the glass down in less than two minutes and then refill it again. It will be the only glass I let myself have, so I make the next drink a long, slow sip.
I’m going to have to get an attorney of my own. She’s going to press the issue, especially after this little trip, and I’m going to have to fight to keep my daughter. Tears well at the thought. Gloria’s right—she can give Stella anything her heart desires, but I can give her something that Gloria can’t. I can give her love, and compassion, and family.
I take my glass of wine with me into the living room. I think about texting Owen and having him come over to hang with me, but I’d be lousy company tonight, and having him here when Gloria brings Stella home will be just as bad as if he’d been here when she picked her up. Maybe worse, since she’ll assume he’s staying the night.
So instead of texting him, I grab my Kindle and settle in on the couch. The house is too quiet without Stella running around so I turn the television on to make some noise. I find a mindless reality show and turn the volume down low. I take another large drink of the wine and lose myself in the book I’ve been trying to read for the last couple of months.
***
I jerk awake as my Kindle drops out of my hand. Blinking several times, it takes me a few seconds to realize that I must have fallen asleep on the couch. The television is still playing softly in the background. My glass of wine is almost completely empty and sits on the coffee table in front of me that is still covered in Stella’s coloring book and crayons.
I glance at the clock and realize it’s only nine. There are a couple more hours before Stella will be home again. I’m reaching for my phone to make sure I haven’t missed any calls from Gloria when I hear a noise coming from the back door. It sounds like Huck scratching to get in. I thought Owen took him home with him, but knowing Huck, he’s figured out some way through the fence and is in search of Stella.
I grab my glass of wine, drinking the last few sips on my way through the kitchen. The scratching at the back door becomes louder. “I’m coming, Huck, hold on!” I set the wineglass on the counter on my way by. “She isn’t here though. You’re going to be stuck hanging with me.”
I just barely have time to see the shadow of the man at the back door before it’s shoved open. It bangs against the wall with a loud thwack, slamming into the wall so hard the doorknob imbeds itself in the drywall. A short scream tears out of my throat as I scramble backward into the kitchen.
In my haste to get away, my feet slip on the linoleum floor and I land right on my ass. I don’t even give myself enough time to register the shock of pain that shoots up my spine before I start to crab-walk backward to get away. He follows me into the house as my back smacks against the counter and I clamber back up to my feet. I reach behind me onto the counter, my hands sliding across the granite, trying to find some sort of weapon.
Fear slides up my throat just as my fingers close around my recently emptied wineglass. I pitch the glass at him, wincing when it bypasses him and smashes into the wall right behind him. Keeping my back to the counter, I shuffle my way around the edge of it and further into the kitchen. For such a big guy, he moves quick, and his large fingers close around my left wrist and yank me forward. With my free hand I rake my nails down his cheek. He howls, probably more in shock than pain, but his grip loosens on my wrist long enough for me to yank it free.
I hardly have time to do more than spin away before he’s on me again. “Bitch.” He growls as his hand tangles into my hair, pulling me backward. Another scream tears out of my throat and I kick backward, trying to dislodge him. His fingers tighten even more as he pulls me up against his body. “You’re going to pay for that.” His breath smells sour as he grounds out the words. He walks us forward, slamming me up against the dining room wall. I buck wildly, trying to do anything I can to shake his hold on me. I scream again, listen to him mutter something under his breath before he reaches up and covers my mouth with his free hand. He holds me against the wall with the weight of his body.
“Why wouldn’t you just leave?” Spit sprays across my cheek where he leans in to whisper the words. “If you had just left town and moved back to DC, then this wouldn’t be happening right now.” He spins me around, grabbing my wrist again before shoving me back into the wall. The force of the move causes my head to bounce off the wall, dizziness sweeping through me as the world starts to gray at the edges. He jams his forearm against my throat and pushes upward until I’m just barely standing on my tiptoes while trying to gasp for air.
His lifts his fist, ramming it into my stomach. Bile claws up the back of my throat. “This is all your fault.” He pulls back and punches me in the stomach again. The fading gray edges are starting to turn black, with little spots dancing in front of me. I yank desperately at the forearm he is holding against my neck, trying to gasp for air.
Like magic, his forearm drops away and with nothing to hold me up, I slump against the wall, sliding down until I hit the ground. I feel his fingers close around my upper arms, yanking me back up. “Bitch,” he snarls. He pulls his arm back, ready to punch out, but a sharp bark, followed by an angry growl, distracts him. The hands around my arm fall way as the man lets out a startled howl. He spins around as I drop unceremoniously to the ground. I slump over, vaguely aware of Huck snarling and snapping at the intruder.
I hear Owen shouting as he comes in the back door behind Huck. His face swims before my eyes for the briefest of moments before I just give in to the darkness.