Steph rolled her eyes. “Because I’m done. I just want to sit and watch TV.” She downed the rest of her beer.
“Yeah, maybe driving right now isn’t a good idea.”
Steph’s gaze narrowed. “It’s one beer.”
He changed the subject. “Don’t forget you need to turn in the rental car on Saturday afternoon.”
“What am I supposed to drive then?” Steph sold her old car in California before they moved because she’d need something more reliable here when the cold weather hit.
“You’ll buy a new car this weekend.”
“I guess I’m supposed to do that on my own, too.”
Yes. Buying a car wasn’t that hard. But he gave her the benefit of the doubt and tried to understand she felt alone and adrift here without her friends and family to lean on. “If you want me to go with you, I will, but you’re buying the car.” He wanted that to be clear.
“Sure. Because you don’t care if your daughter is riding around in some junker.” She rolled her eyes again.
He wanted to do the same. “You agreed to move here and be Miss Independent,” he reminded her. “With the money you got from your other car and your new job, you can afford a decent car.” Especially since he graciously paid her rent. “Now, why am I here?” Burnt dinner didn’t seem like a good enough reason to throw her hands up and send Emmy home with him.
“Because she’s out of control. She hates everything I say and do and throws a tantrum over the littlest thing.”
“I didn’t want to eat the yucky food.”
He didn’t blame Emmy.
“And you ate my brownies!” Emmy only ever screamed like that at her mother. And a few times to her teacher and other students at school, which prompted the notes home.
“Emmy, watch your tone,” he warned, picking her up to console her.
She buried her face in his neck and he got a good whiff of her dirty, tangled hair.
Steph looked done. But she shouldn’t get away with not taking proper care of Emmy.
“When’s the last time she had a bath?” As far as he knew, four-year-olds didn’t stink. Emmy’s hair would take two shampoos to get the oil out and at least an hour to untangle. He had a feeling the only reason her clothes were clean was because everything had been washed and packed before the move.
Steph gave him a dirty look. “Seriously? I’ve had a shit week, and you want to pick a fight?”
He really couldn’t win. And he didn’t want to do this bitter back-and-forth in front of Emmy. So he gave Steph what she wanted, and hoped giving her a break and some time to herself would allow her to settle down, unpack, and get herself together.
He set Emmy on her feet. “Go to your room. Pick out five pants, shirts, sleep clothes, underwear, and socks. Grab your jacket and school backpack, too.”
Steph stood at her full height, surprise in her eyes that he was going to give her what she wanted. “I thought you had a date?”
“I have a daughter who always comes first. I wish she did with you, too.”
“That’s not fair. You have no idea what it’s been like for me this week, learning a whole new job, the school schedule, dealing with Emmy’s tantrums, and stuff.”
He didn’t know what “stuff” she’d been doing aside from ignoring their daughter’s needs, not putting away her belongings, and leaving the apartment a mess.
“Well, for my daughter’s sake, let me help you with some stuff.” He walked past her into the kitchen, turned on the tap, opened the dishwasher, and rinsed and put the dishes in it. He ran the disposal when he was done. He noted that it took him not more than five minutes to do that chore, but he refrained from chastising Steph about it.
Steph stood there sipping a second beer with triumph in her eye because she got her way and someone else did for her what she should have done herself.
He didn’t care. His daughter deserved a nice, clean home. So he wadded up all the paper wrappings Steph left all over the dining-room area when she unpacked the moving boxes. Dishes, glasses, mugs, utensils, and other miscellaneous kitchen stuff was stacked on the table instead of put in the cupboard where they belonged. He jammed the papers into one empty box, broke down the three others, then went back and forth organizing the kitchen.
Since Steph watched and didn’t help one damn bit, he didn’t even ask where she’d like things to go.
Next, he sorted the pile of laundry, shoved the colored clothes in the washer, added soap from the bottle next to the machine, turned it on, then headed down the hall to Emmy’s room.
She’d done as she was told and stacked her clothes on the bed. He found her overnight bag in the closet and put all the clothes inside, making sure she didn’t forget anything. Since they had double sets of toothbrushes and hairbrushes and such because she lived in two places, he already had a lot of what she’d need for the long weekend at his place.
With Emmy packed and the house in better condition, he scooped her up and held her at his side, then grabbed her bag. They walked down the hallway and met Steph by the door. “You’ve got all weekend to yourself to get this place in order before you pick her up after school on Monday.”
“What about getting the car?”
“I’ll pick you up on Saturday at nine.”
“So early?”
“If you want my help, yes. I don’t have time to wait around for you to sleep half the day away.”
“Maybe we could get lunch afterward and do something together.” The hopeful look in her eyes was the complete opposite of the incredulous look she gave him when he arrived.
“If we have time,” he agreed, because he believed Emmy would benefit from seeing her parents together and getting along. He hoped he and Steph could pull it off. “I have plans for the afternoon.”
“But you’ll have Emmy.”
“We’re going to visit my dad.”
She brushed her hand over Emmy’s tangled hair. “You love seeing your grandpa. Have fun. I’ll see you after school on Monday.” She looked up at him, remorse in her eyes. “Thanks for coming and helping out. I just need a little time to settle in.”
“Don’t fall back into bad habits, Steph. You promised me and your dad you wanted to do this on your own.”
“I do. It’s just a lot all at once.”
He nodded, understanding she couldn’t change overnight. He’d have to give her some leeway to figure it all out. “I get that. But I also want you to prove you can stand on your own feet and take care of our girl.”
“I can.”
“You better, or we’re going to have another talk about what’s best for Emmy.” With that warning, he stepped past her, opened the door, and walked out.
Emmy stared up at him from her car seat after he got her settled inside and stowed her bag. “Do I get to see the ranch now?”
“Later. First, I need to make a stop.” If he had to cancel on Trinity, he planned to do it in person so she could see he wished he didn’t have to, and so he could at the very least get a look at her in the dress she’d put on just for him.
Chapter Seven