He equally blamed himself for drinking too much, thinking with his dick instead of his brain, and not using a condom.
Hit by a moment of clarity that he was going to be a father, he pictured the rest of his life being married to Steph, the girl who sounded like she had it all together but didn’t. A person who couldn’t function unless someone did everything for her.
If he’d only gotten out a couple weeks earlier.
But then he wouldn’t have his sweet Emmy.
He stepped out of his car, checked to be sure there were no cars coming, and held his arms out wide. Emmy ran to him with a bright smile and pink cheeks. She launched herself into his chest. He wrapped her in his arms and swung her around. “Hello, sweet girl.”
She hugged his neck so tight he almost couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care. His heart swelled with pride and devotion. He loved her to no end. She made him smile and believe in unconditional love.
“Hi, Daddy. I missed you.”
“How was the plane ride?”
“Awesome!” She leaned back and gave him a very serious look. “Mama’s mad at you.”
What’s new?
He raised a brow as Steph joined them and gave Emmy a stern look. “I got a little upset—”
“She swore.” Emmy tattled on her mom.
Steph planted her fists on her hips and stared down Emmy. “I’m talking.” She set her perturbed gaze on him. “It was . . . challenging,” she bit out, “getting her, the booster seat, our bags, and retrieving the cats. Not to mention hauling all that to our rental car on my own. The GPS thing didn’t want to work at first. I got turned around leaving the airport, and I may have said a few choice words.”
“But you got here.” He hoped his easy tone and not making a big deal about swearing around Emmy eased her mind and settled her down.
“We did. Yes. But it would have been nice if you’d stuck to the plan and come to get us.”
Steph was smart and capable when she wanted to be. It took him a while to figure out she simply didn’t care to be proficient at anything when she could get by doing the bare minimum. Her beauty helped her out there. People, men especially, wanted to do things for her, hoping she’d pay them attention.
Which she did when it got her what she wanted.
Lesson learned. He wasn’t blinded by her pretty face and gorgeous body anymore. That he had been made him feel like a chump sometimes.
It took him a while to figure out party Steph was fun, but regular Steph liked to get her pout on and leave life’s chores to others.
If Steph had a headache, she called in sick. All the better to spend a day binge-watching a show while others did her job. She didn’t care if she left work shorthanded or if something didn’t get done.
If she spent too many days at the spa in a month or spent too much money shopping for clothes she didn’t need, and she couldn’t pay her bills, she called Daddy, gave him some sob story, and he coughed up the dough to cover her.
In the beginning, Jon had fallen into that trap himself because she’d rewarded him with a good time. Not anymore. He’d closed his wallet, except when it came to Emmy’s needs.
“I needed to check on my dad at the hospital.”
“Is Grandpa okay?” Emmy’s eyes held too much concern for such a little girl.
He brushed his hand over her head. “Yes. He’s much better this morning. I thought we’d go see him later this afternoon after the moving trucks get here.”
“You’re taking her later?”
Before the move, they’d agreed to a new equally shared custody arrangement. He wanted more time with Emmy and hoped it took some of the stress off Steph, because he couldn’t count the number of times she called when she had Emmy to complain it was too much, she needed a break, or that Emmy wouldn’t listen to her.
When Emmy started fighting him about going to stay at her mom’s, he’d made her go because he told himself she needed her mother. But then she started acting out at school, the calls from Steph about how overwhelmed she was having Emmy “all the time,” and the state his daughter came back to him in sent up one red flag after another.
Emmy was so good when she was with him.
How could she be so different at her mom’s place?
He quickly discovered the problem wasn’t his bright daughter, but the mother who fed her crap, let her stay up to all hours, didn’t keep to a schedule, and let Emmy get away with everything instead of disciplining her. When she did, Emmy argued, and Steph gave up.
He couldn’t put all the blame on Steph. He’d worked a lot. He could sometimes be distracted by business when he should be focused on Emmy.
Then again, he never complained about his time with her. He tried to make it fun while giving her the stability and structure she needed.
But things were going to be different here. “The hospital isn’t far. We’ll only be gone an hour tops. My dad needs his rest, but he can’t wait to see Emmy.”
Steph gave him a sharp nod. “It’ll give me a little time to unpack.”
“Speaking of that, let’s get the stuff out of the car and show the cats their new home.” He tickled Emmy’s belly, then set her on the sidewalk. “Don’t move.”
Jon turned to the car and pulled out the two cat crates and set them next to Emmy, who promptly squatted and poked her fingers through the grate to pet Razzle.
Steph joined him at the back of the car as he pulled out their suitcases. She held two shopping bags. “We stopped at the store for a few things to tide us over until I can do a big grocery run.”
He spied several frozen dinners, chicken nuggets, pizza bites, a bag of Tater Tots, and frozen pizzas along with two bottles of wine. “Um, that’s what you plan to feed Emmy?”
“What? She loves pizza and nuggets.”
“I know, but she needs healthier foods than that.” When he started noticing Emmy came home cranky and tired and just off, he started wondering why. He’d even asked the pediatrician what she thought and the first question she asked was, “How is her diet? Does she eat any vegetables at all?”
Emmy answered and blew his mind away. “Only at Daddy’s.”
He pinned Steph in his gaze. “We talked about this. The pediatrician said she needs fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods.”
She set the second bag on the ground and held it open, showing him juice boxes, a bottle of his favorite bourbon, and a pack of yogurt sticks. “She loves those.”
He knew she meant the yogurt, but asked anyway, just to be a smart-ass. “When did she start drinking bourbon?”
Steph laughed. She was always quick to laugh at his bad jokes. “That’s for you. For when you come over. You promised we’d spend more time together as a family. The three of us.”
He didn’t say anything about how he didn’t plan to stay for drinks. He meant to be a good example for Emmy.
Where Steph was concerned, he planned to keep his head.
Steph’s expectant and hopeful eyes said she wanted them to give things another go. Not going to happen. He knew what he wanted in his next relationship. Less drama. Someone who made him think of forever. Someone who wanted to make a happy family with him and Emmy.
Someone kind, who cared about others.