Page 73 of Follow My Heart

“No running in the house,” Phil called after them, but it didn’t even cause them to pause.

This was different from the house we’d shared together when we were married. With only one child, it wasn’t as loud and crazy.

Phil shot me an apologetic look. “Sorry, the boys are hyped up because we have guests tonight.”

I wasn’t sure what I could say to that. Maybe our kids weren’t ready for a blended family, and you should get a sitter when you wanted to see your girlfriend. But it wasn’t my place.

Phil called out, “Stacy, Ryder’s here for Faith.”

“Daddy,” Faith cried as she ran down the steps with her bag already over her shoulder. “You’re here.”

“What’s going on?” I asked as she hugged me.

She pouted. “It’s so loud here.”

“You’re not used to living with other kids.” It was something she might have to get accustomed to though. Maybe it was Faith who was making the demands.

“I need to talk to your mother before we leave.” I handed her the keys, and she slipped out of the house without another word to Phil or his boys.

I heard a commotion somewhere else in the house, like something fell and broke. “I better go see what they’re up to. I’ll tell Stacy you want to talk to her.”

“Thanks.”

A few seconds later, Stacy appeared, drying her hands with a dish towel. “You wanted to talk?”

“I want as much time with Faith as possible, but I’m wondering if she’s the one who demanded I come get her?”

Stacy rolled her eyes. “She said she couldn’t handle Phil’s boys. I mean, they’re a lot.”

I skipped over the part where she could have eased this transition by moving slower. But I didn’t know enough of the details to comment on it.

“I don’t know what the situation is, but if you think Faith is making demands about visitation, maybe it would be better to stick to our custody agreement. Then she’ll know she can’t pull this stuff. Your weekend should be yours.”

Stacy nodded. “That makes sense.”

“I’ll talk to her about it.”

Stacy smiled regretfully. “Thanks, Ryder. I’m sure you had other plans tonight.”

“Faith always comes first. You know that.” My voice was gruff because I still felt badly about how this was affecting my relationship with Violet. She was understanding, but for how long?

Stacy smiled as I turned to go. In the truck, I backed out, assessing Faith’s expression. She looked happy, and as good as that made me feel, I had to address how things were handled tonight. “Faith, when you’re with your mother, you need to be with her. That’s why we have a custody agreement, so you’re seeing both of us on a predictable schedule.”

Her lips twisted. “Even if she’s with him?”

“That’s something you can discuss with her and Phil. Maybe there’s a way they can transition that would work better for you. But at the end of the day, this is Mom’s weekend. I don’t want to interfere.”

Faith was quiet for a bit, and then she finally said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“I love spending time with you, but I don’t think it’s fair for you to switch parents when it doesn’t suit you.” At first, I thought it was Stacy pulling strings to keep me in line, but when I thought about it, I suspected it was Faith.

“It sucks.” Faith looked out the window.

“I know you didn’t want us to break up, and it’s hard with me living so far away. I wish I could make it better for you—” There was nothing about this situation that was great for a kid.

Faith sighed. “I know you weren’t happy together.”

“I hate how difficult this is on you. But I think we need to stick to the schedule.”

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