Page 71 of Follow My Heart

He sat next to Daphne. “Everyone’s in bed.”

Daphne smiled. “Thanks for putting them down.”

“Of course. What are you talking about?”

“Violet’s worried about the situation with Stacy. She’s jerking Ryder around with the custody schedule, and he’s going along with it.”

Cole’s expression was pensive. “I can see why he’d do that. He wants to see his kid and doesn’t feel like he has a lot of options without it getting contentious. As the dad, he might feel like he’s at a disadvantage.”

I nodded. “He said in the past that Stacy handled the caregiving, and he worked too much. He wants to be more involved.”

“I think you have to give him the space to deal with this how he wants to,” Cole said.

“What if I don’t like how Stacy treats him?” I asked both of them, wanting to know their answer.

“You can point out what’s going on, but you can’t come between them,” Daphne said carefully.

It felt like I had to stifle my feelings. It was one more instance where I was second place. Logically, I knew that was the case with a single dad. I felt the same way I did every time my parents chose Danielle over me.

“If it doesn’t work for you, you can walk away. But you have to be prepared to do that. Ryder, Faith, and unfortunately, Stacy are a package deal,” Cole said.

“What about the fact that she took away the extra visitation when he told her we were dating?”

Cole shook his head. “That’s shitty.”

“And she’s been dating someone since Ryder moved here. So she doesn’t have any room to complain,” Daphne added.

“She doesn’t want him to move on.” Cole stretched his legs in front of him.

I sipped my water. “That’s what it seems like. But I don’t want to make demands of him. That doesn’t seem fair. He already has one person telling him how things will be.”

Cole uncrossed his legs, placing his feet flat on the floor and leaning on his thighs with his elbows. “You could express your concerns and give him space to consider them. If at any point things don’t change, and you feel like the situation isn’t tenable for you, you can walk away.”

My heart hurt just thinking about it.

“This is his issue to deal with. You can be there for him, listen, and be supportive. But I don’t think it’s your place to put more demands on him,” Daphne said.

“I hate what she puts him through. How she thinks it’s okay for her to date but not him?”

“She was so confident that she could control him through the separation; she never thought he’d actually move on and start dating again. That’s just my observation,” Cole said.

“She’s jealous,” I said flatly, not having realized that before he insinuated that was the case.

“She wants to date and still have him on the line,” Daphne said.

Cole nodded seriously. “That’s what it seems like to me.”

“Well, what did she think was going to happen when she asked for a separation?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Didn’t you say that he wanted to save the marriage and suggested marriage counseling?” Cole asked.

I nodded miserably.

Daphne shifted in her chair, rearranging the blanket around her legs. “He’s only ever wanted a family. He let Stacy isolate him from us for years. Even if he chose wrong, he was going to stick with his decision.”

“Then when she forced the issue, he had no choice but to move on,” Cole said.

“This could go on for years. Some custody disputes do, or he could acquiesce to her requests. I’m sure he thinks that’s easier on everyone, including Faith.”

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