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“Well, Lisa feels otherwise. And it does seem Riley didn’t give anyone a clear reason as to why this happened. She’ll only say she was held up somewhere and asked Ms. Martinez for help. That’s not quite all of it either. Looks like Mrs. Martinez had to actually meet Lisa to drop your son off when he was scheduled to stay with your wife. Again, Riley isn’t explaining any of it.”

Something about this didn’t smell right, but that wasn’t really the point. “How is this going to affect the custody case?”

Dean’s sigh traveled down the line. “It’s not good. Listen, you aren’t going to get full custody, we discussed this already. Not with your current occupation. But now they’re going to make the case that Mason shouldn’t be in Riley’s care, that she’s not trustworthy with the well-being of a child. That could greatly impede the time and circumstances you are actually around him.”

What was Riley up to? Why couldn’t she just tell them what was going on? She was making this worse and worse by the second.

God. Fucking. Damnit.

“Listen, Dean. I gotta go. Let me talk to Riley. If I find something out that may be valuable, I’ll update you.”

“Sure thing.”

We disconnect as I pull into the driveway. I stare daggers at the door, every muscle in my body tense. Sitting here is doing no good. Time to rip this bandage off and see what the hell actually happened. Assuming Riley would explain anything to me. She wasn’t always willing to trust me anymore than she trusted Lisa.

My footsteps thud on the steps to the front door. I take a few steps in and drop my pack with an even bigger thud. The air-conditioning provides some relief from the heat and humidity, but not from the tension that’s built up in the short time I’ve been back CONUS. I have come and gone from this house what feels like a hundred times and it’s never felt this damn crappy. Don’t I get one place in the whole freaking world to relax? Doesn’t seem like that much to ask.

I take a few steps farther into the house and spot Riley in the living room, talking to someone through her headset. She looks up from the computer screen and waves. A big smile spreads across her face, only to fall a moment later. She could always read my moods and it seems like she isn’t missing how fucking pissed off I am.

“Glad I could help. Have a nice day.” She presses a couple of buttons and pulls the headset off. Then she stands and makes her way over to me. “I can’t believe you’re finally home. Is everything okay? You look upset.”

Is she for real? A sarcastic snort escapes my lips. “No, everything is not okay. Care to tell me why that is?”

“I... I don’t know.” Riley furrows her brow, a slight tilt to her head. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to know about things that go on at work. Well, the secret stuff, anyway.”

Seriously? She thinks this is about work? About the training I’ve returned from? “This isn’t about work. Why’d you send Inara to pick up Mason? Do you know the shitstorm you started?” My voice is loud, booming with anger. Yet, tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I counted on her. I believed in her. Is there a worse betrayal than betraying the trust of someone who puts their child in your care? I don’t think so.

“Lucas—”

“I may lose my son, not be able to have any relationship with him at all.” My voice breaks. “All because you couldn’t show up on time to pick him up for reasons you don’t seem to be willing to share with anyone.”

“Lucas, I was at the doctor. I needed to get a CT scan done. It was last minute, an emergency. It wasn’t like I had a choice. You’re the one who told me to lean on the other wives if I needed to and I needed to right then.” Riley straightens to her full height.

“Why not just tell Lisa that, then? Why make it a big secret and let her spin lies about it?” Damn it. I get that she wants her privacy, but this is my kid we’re talking about.

Tears streak down Riley’s cheeks. “This is what I was afraid of when I told you about being sick. Or at least one of the things. I was afraid Lisa would find out and make some kind of case that I couldn’t be relied on because of my Crohn’s. Now she’s doing exactly that without even knowing the full extent of it. I missed picking up Mason once because of a doctor’s appointment that went too long and she’s using it against you. Against us.”

Dammit to hell. Not what I was expecting her to say. Though, I’m not sure what I thought her answer would be. I pace back and forth across the room, fingers clenching and unclenching, as I try to release the tension and anger from my body.

The situation is all too much. What am I supposed to do?

“I need to get cleaned up.” I turn and head upstairs to my room.

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