Page 52 of Drive To Survive

My voice trailed off, and I stared, openmouthed, at a man I never thought I’d see again, a man lounging on my sofa with his feet propped up on top of the bag I’d packed earlier today.

“Going somewhere, babe?” Paul said.

EVERLY

“Daddy?” Rhett queried tentatively.

Paul threw his arms out to the side in a welcoming fashion. “It’s me, buddy. My, you’ve grown.”

The times when I wondered if Paul would ever return, I’d questioned whether Rhett would recognize him. And now I had my answer. What I didn’t have the answer to was where the fuck he’d been for more than two years and why the hell he thought it was perfectly reasonable to break into my house and think he’d get a warm welcome.

Rhett threw himself into Paul’s embrace while I stood there, feet frozen to the floor, my blood running cold, and struggling to get a full breath.

“Is it really you?” Rhett said, pressing his hand to his father’s face.

“A hundred percent.” Paul turned to me, smiling. “Well, aren’t you gonna say hello, Ev?”

My palms prickled, and I clenched and unclenched my fists. “Hello.”

I hardly recognized the hard tone to my voice, and that, coupled with the nonverbal cues pouring off me, left Paul with no doubt that if he’d expected me to throw myself into his arms, delighted at his return, he’d have a damn long wait ahead of him.

Paul narrowed his eyes as he set Rhett on the floor, then stood. “You look good, Ev.”

I clamped my teeth together. I’d never liked that nickname, but no matter how many times I told Paul, he never listened.

“Rhett,” I said, beckoning him to me. “How about you spend a bit longer with Dorothy? I’m sure she’ll have more pie.”

Rhett pouted and stamped his foot. “But I want to stay with Daddy.”

I steeled myself for a full-on tantrum. However he reacted, I still needed him out of the way so I could get to the bottom of what the hell was going on and why Paul had turned up now, of all times. He wasn’t back for me. If he gave two shits about me and him, he’d never have left in the first place, and unless he was about to tell me he’d been kidnapped and held against his will—highly unlikely—then he’d made his choice the day he walked out without giving me or Rhett a second thought. I refused to allow Rhett to get sucked into thinking Paul was back for good, not until I’d gotten answers to the hundreds of questions running through my mind.

“Daddy will still be here in a couple of hours, right?” I gritted out, shooting a glare at Paul.

“Course I will,” he said, ruffling Rhett’s hair. “I’m back, son. I’m going nowhere.”

I ground my teeth. We’ll see.

“Go on now. Do as your mother tells you. Us grown-ups need a bit of time to talk.”

Rhett didn’t look happy, but he meekly came along with me. I only needed to say two words to Dorothy: “Paul’s back.” Her eyebrows shot up, but she kept her thoughts to herself, then nodded in understanding and ushered Rhett inside.

I took a deep breath, stiffened my spine, and returned home. Paul had resettled in his position on the couch, although at least this time, he’d removed his feet from off my bag. I slammed the front door and planted my hands on my hips, finally releasing that first question raging inside my head.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

Paul patted the seat beside him. “It’s a long story, babe.”

I ignored his offer. “Then you’d better start telling it, hadn’t you?”

He frowned, and his eyes flashed in a well-remembered fashion, which usually preceded a loss of temper. “I thought you’d be happy to see me back.”

My mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me right now? I thought you were dead, Paul. The cops searched everywhere. It was only when they found nothing that I realized you’d just fucked off instead.”

“I didn’t just fuck off,” he said tersely. “And I don’t remember you being this argumentative, or coarse. Maybe watch your mouth a bit, yeah?”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets before I went crazy and wrapped them around his goddamn throat. “You don’t get to come back here after walking out on me and your son two years ago and get to tell me anything. Are we clear?”

He got to his feet, towering above me. I’d forgotten how tall and broad he was, and while a sliver of panic inched down my spine, I refused to show him one ounce of fear.

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