Page 27 of Fire

Nothing about Micah Hutton is mouselike. His energy takes up too much space. Being in that office with him, his emotions going wild, it was like standing next to a live wire. My entire body was on alert, even as I transitioned from anger to regret to…something else.

“It was an anonymous donor.”

Grandma giggles. “A nona-mouse. That’s too cute. And rather mysterious, no?”

“He spends a lot of time outside his house and has extra rooms he wanted to give us. He’s basically donating his home.”

“That’s so sweet.” She pauses, a wicked gleam settling into her eyes. “Is he handsome? Tell me he’s handsome, Ives. Let an old woman live vicariously through her granddaughter.”

“He’s Micah.”

Grandma freezes. Blinks several times. Starts to ask a question, then turns to the cabinet and grabs a bottle of Irish Cream. “I never, ever say this, but coffee’s not gonna be strong enough.”

“You know, in this instance, I agree with you.”

She’s quiet while the coffee finishes brewing, and then quiet some more while she pours, adding a second splash of Irish Cream into both mugs. Then a third. She considers a fourth but caps the bottle and takes a long drink instead.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ivy

“Micah thinks he can pop into your life now? After all this time? Just give you a place to live like that’ll make everything better? Like he didn’t abandon you?” Grandma cups her mug, glaring at its contents, then lifts her angry eyes to mine. “Oh, Ivy. Please say you told him exactly where he can put that offer.”

I take a long drink of coffee. Then another. Then one more for good measure, wishing she’d gone for that fourth splash of Irish Cream.

“He says he didn’t know.” I lick my lips, aware I sound crazy. “He didn’t know about Nell.”

“That’s bullshit, Ivy.” She levels a finger my way, pacing back and forth in the tiny kitchen. “You can’t fall for that kind of bullshit from him. From anyone. I love you dearly but falling for bullshit is something you’ve gotten really good at. Just because someone says something, doesn’t make it true. It’s the actions we listen to. Not the words.”

“Believe me. I was listening to his actions. I know it sounds absurd, but his actions are the only reason I didn’t tell him to stick his offer…” I take a sip of coffee to avoid cursing in front of my grandmother.

“Up his ass?” she supplies, arching a brow.

“Exactly.” I rest my elbows on the counter, hands cupping my mug. “Micah didn’t know. It was written all over his face, clear as day, the total shock of it all. He took one look at Nell and immediately saw she was his, the same way we see it, and he went pale and his eyes…it was his eyes that really made me listen to what he was saying. I swear, today was the first day Micah Hutton knew he was a father.”

Grandma scoffs, then rests her elbows on the counter, mimicking my posture. “But how is that possible? How can he not know?”

“He says he never got my texts, and I didn’t go any farther trying to reach him.”

“You didn’t call?” Shock. It’s an expression I’m getting quite proficient at recognizing today. “Email? Send a carrier pigeon? Ivy…”

And now disappointment. Another expression I’d like to see less of.

“I didn’t call. Or email. I should have considered the carrier pigeon…” I smile and Grandma laughs, though it’s short and tight and lacks humor. “Dad told me Micah’s silence made it clear—”

Grandma pushes off the counter. “Of course it was your father. His favorite pastime is making the women in his life totally dependent on him and letting you think Micah abandoned you would be the perfect start to making you doubt yourself.” She holds up her hands. “Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn’t talk shit about your dad.”

I shrug. “It’s probably good for me to start seeing that side of him.”

“But not out of spite. Not because I’m angry.” She shakes her head. “The stuff your dad got wrong—and there’s a lot of it—is an important conversation, but let’s not get sidetracked from the important conversation we’re already having. How in the world did any of this happen?”

“You know how Micah texted me out of the blue several months after I gave up trying to tell him I was pregnant? And I was so offended because he acted like everything was fine? That’s because to him, everything was fine. He had no idea what was going on and from his point of view, I just ghosted him.” I explain how hard it was for us to talk back then. “Between the time zones and Dad being weird about me turning in my phone at night, Micah and I could barely sync up. He said he was going crazy without me and broke his phone. His parents wouldn’t replace it until he got his act together, and when they did finally replace it, he got a new number for a fresh start. Which meant every single text I sent disappeared into the void.”

I pause, replaying our conversation for the hundredth time. “He did say something about me breaking up with him, something I definitely didn’t do. And there’s the whole question of why he didn’t bother to tell me what was going on, but honestly, I believe him when he says he didn’t know about Nell.”

Grandma lifts her mug to her lips, then huffs a laugh. “I guess this means we don’t have to hate him anymore for being so damn good looking, right?”

Her words wade through all the muck in my brain. When they finally process, I frown. “I’m not sure I’m in the right frame of mind to joke about this.”

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